On recent provocative acts and burning of copies of the Quran, the Muslim holy book, in some Western countries, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye will continue its fight against Islamophobia.
"Unfortunately, most of the countries that defend democracy and human rights are playing three monkeys in the face of this barbarism. The burning of the holy Quran under police protection is an overt provocation, a hate crime. No one can expect us to remain silent in the face of this," Turkish President Erdoğan stressed in his speech at a news conference after the G-20 summit in India.
For the common future of all people, Erdoğan said he believes that all countries where Islamophobia is on the rise should pursue "more determined" policies against it.
Islamophobic figures and groups in Northern Europe in recent months have repeatedly carried out Quran burnings and similar attempts to desecrate the Muslim holy book, drawing outrage from Muslim countries and the world.
"Through the proposals and efforts of our country, the attack on the holy books was also condemned in the G-20 declaration," Erdoğan said.
Turning to Ankara's EU membership process, Erdoğan said: "EU member countries have been stalling us for 50 years, and they are still stalling us today. Whether they stall us or not, Türkiye is Türkiye; we will proceed on our way."
On the sidelines of the G-20 summit, Erdogan met with European Council President Charles Michel, with whom he discussed Türkiye-EU relations and steps to be taken for Türkiye's full accession to the EU.
Türkiye applied for EU membership in 1987 and has been a candidate country since 1999.
Negotiations for full membership started in October 2005 but have stalled in recent years due to political hurdles erected by some countries.
