Fidan urges visa liberalization, cites EU’s security concerns, Türkiye’s role in Ukraine

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has emphasized the need for visa liberalization with Europe, pointing out that the current visa regime is insufficient to meet Türkiye’s growing demands.

Fidan also highlighted Europe’s increasing reluctance to rely on the U.S. security umbrella and reaffirmed Türkiye’s readiness to contribute to a potential ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.

In remarks made during an iftar event with journalists in Ankara, Fidan discussed several key issues, including the shifting security priorities in Europe, Türkiye’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the urgent need for visa liberalization between Türkiye and the European Union.

Visa liberalization with Europe

Fidan strongly advocated for the liberalization of visa processes between Türkiye and Europe, stating, “We need to move forward with visa liberalization with Europe. This will resolve issues related to visa processes.” He emphasized that the current visa regime cannot accommodate Türkiye’s growing demand for travel, especially for business and tourism.

“We have to make progress on this issue. As Türkiye’s demand increases, the existing visa mechanisms no longer suffice,” Fidan said. He called on Europe to consider a visa-free agreement, which he believes would ease the process and improve relations.

When we ask European countries about visa issues, they say, “We give the most visas to Türkiye.” However, when we look at the statistics, the ratio of approved to rejected visas has not changed for years.

On the other hand, there has been a significant increase in visa applications from Türkiye, especially for tourist visas. In response, there are some claims raised by Europeans about the misuse of visa rights. At this point, we need to move towards visa liberalization with Europe. When we achieve this, the issues with the visa processes will disappear. As long as the visa regime continues, it is not possible to address Türkiye’s increasing demand through the visa mechanism.

In other words, the solution is visa liberalization. We hope to address this issue in this period, and it needs to be implemented in parallel with the improvements in the economy.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Europe’s security shift

Fidan also addressed Europe’s evolving security concerns, noting that many European countries are increasingly questioning their dependency on U.S. security guarantees.

“Europeans no longer want to be fully dependent on the U.S. security umbrella,” Fidan remarked. He explained that Europe’s security architecture might change if the U.S. continues to reduce its involvement in the region.

“If the U.S. continues its relationship with Europe and NATO at the same level, Europe will shape its security structure accordingly. However, if the U.S. is not fully involved, Europe will follow a new path,” Fidan added.

There are threats to the system, but the system hasn’t broken down. In other words, the United States has not officially withdrawn from NATO, it has not pulled its troops out, nor have they taken their missiles back. Everything is at a standstill.

The only thing that has emerged is an alarm situation in Europe following America’s engagement with Russia. Now, certain issues are not even being discussed too early. Some things need to be separated. First, if the old order continues, meaning the U.S. is now developing an initiative with Russia through Ukraine, but its relationship with European security and NATO remains at the same level, Europe will create its own security framework accordingly.

If the U.S. is not fully involved, Europe will follow a new path. Europeans no longer want to be fully dependent on America’s security umbrella. They don’t believe in the sustainability of that arrangement. They think they shouldn’t risk their own security to such an extent.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Türkiye’s role in Ukraine cease-fire

On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s commitment to supporting peace efforts. “We are ready to do our part in this regard,” he said, emphasizing that Türkiye is prepared to contribute to a cease-fire agreement if both Russia and Ukraine agree to terms.

Fidan stressed that the goal is a solution both sides can support, underlining that Türkiye remains a neutral and proactive actor in facilitating peace.

The meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin did not yield a clear outcome regarding the ceasefire. However, some steps were proposed to initiate and advance the process. Ideas such as not targeting energy sectors, ensuring the safety of maritime navigation, and exchanging prisoners were put forward, and these were accepted. Efforts are still ongoing for a full ceasefire.

As Türkiye, our President’s stance is as follows: We would like to contribute to an agreement that both parties have agreed upon. What is important for us is an agreement that both sides agree on. We are ready to do our part in this regard. However, most of the discussions you see right now revolve around issues under security guarantees.

Theoretically, if the parties agree to form a peacekeeping force at a later stage, we could contribute. But we emphasize this point: being part of a coercive initiative from one side is different from being part of an agreed-upon solution. We are in favor of the second option.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan

Cyprus and regional cooperation

Fidan also discussed Türkiye’s long-standing stance on Cyprus, stating that the two communities on the island must be treated equally and fairly.

He highlighted Türkiye’s constructive participation in recent discussions under the U.N. framework and reiterated Türkiye’s commitment to a political solution for the island.

The United Nations secretary-general is truly a leader we highly appreciate, a qualified leader. The position reflects the conscience of the international system to some extent.

In regard to the Cyprus issue, our president accepted the proposal for this informal meeting to show our constructive attitude. As you know, the secretary-general appointed a special personal representative a year ago. The former Colombian foreign minister came, examined the situation, spoke with all sides for six months, and prepared a report.

This report was recorded, and it stated, “There is no common ground between the two sides.” Now, what does this mean? There is an issue we have been advocating for years. There is a reality in Cyprus where the two communities live separately with their own institutions.

The fact that one of these communities is recognized as a state and has access to all kinds of resources, while the other is not recognized, is the root cause of the injustice on the island. This injustice must be corrected.

In the past, we trusted the mediation of the international system and agreed to the UN solution drafts, but the Greek Cypriots did not accept them. Today, there is a different situation on the ground, and this situation must be reflected in the search for a political solution.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan