President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said there is no justification for obstructing Türkiye's EU accession process, as he said the country's full membership is essential for the bloc's peace and security, as he addressed the fifth European Political Community (EPC) summit in Hungary's capital Budapest Thursday, Paralel.Az reports citing Daily Sabah.

"There is no reasonable justification for blocking the EU accession process of a candidate country like Türkiye, which has long made significant contributions to the prosperity and security of Europe," the president said. He continued by pointing to the challenges and consequences of the war in Ukraine, saying that the continuation of the war leaves less and less room for diplomacy.

The president said he conveyed Ankara's "messages to open space for diplomacy" in separate meetings with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in recent weeks.