Malta offers diplomatic hand to Turkey
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The nation that will take on the European Union presidency at the end of the month held out a diplomatic hand to Turkey on Monday and insisted the bloc needed to "give some positive signals" if it wanted to get more cooperation from Ankara.
Malta Foreign Minister George Vella said the 28-nation EU needed to make more efforts toward visa liberalization for Turkey, a sign Malta wants to keep the EU's important neighbor as a close partner.
Highlighting the differences within the bloc over how to deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vella's remarks came shortly after Austria demanded that the EU freeze membership talks with Turkey over Ankara's massive crackdown on alleged sympathizers after a failed coup attempt in July. Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said "it is wrong to continue accession negotiations as if nothing negative has happened in Turkey."
