Press Statement On The Phone Call Between Ambassador Volkan Bozkir, Minister For EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator and Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner For European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations

Ambassador Volkan Bozkır, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator spoke with Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations by phone today (15 December).

Minister Bozkır briefly informed Commissioner Hahn on the developments regarding an investigation initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and underlined the main points stated by Bülent Arınç, Deputy Prime Minister and Government Spokesman following the Council of Ministers Meeting.

In this context, Minister Bozkır mentioned to his counterpart that the judicial process was still ongoing, that the executive was not involved in this process in accordance with the principle of the separation of powers, that Türkiye was a country which observed the rule of law and that everyone should respect the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. Minister Bozkır also stated that the detained persons were not investigated because of their written or oral expressions and also that the freedom of press in Türkiye cannot be harmed. 

Minister Bozkır and Commissioner Hahn have agreed to stay in touch on this issue.