Erdogan: Granting candidate status does not guarantee EU membership

Giving Georgia the status of a candidate for the European Union (EU) and starting negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova does not guarantee the membership of these countries in the organization, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said while answering journalists' questions on his return flight from Hungary, Report informs, citing the Turkish press.

"Granting the status of a candidate does not mean that they will become members of the European Union. After the start of this process, it will be longer," he said.

The President noted that the EU should now carefully review its relations with Türkiye: "Türkiye is more ready to become a member of the EU than other countries. However, due to political obstacles, we have to wait for many years."