Turkey dismisses EU Parliament vote to freeze talks

Ankara criticises vote that calls for a
temporary halt to its EU membership talks
over the response to failed coup bid.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has
dismissed a European Parliament vote calling for
a temporary freeze to Ankara's membership
talks with the EU as "insignificant".
Of the 623 politicians present for Thursday's
vote in France's Strasbourg, 479 were in favour
of a halt in negotiations over Turkey's
"disproportionate" crackdown following July's
failed coup attempt . Thirty-seven
abstained against and 107 abstained.
Yet, the vote is non-binding and EU governments
are unlikely to take heed.
Shortly after, Yildirim said the outcome had no
value and urged EU leaders to speak out against
what he termed a "lack of vision".
"The EU should understand and decide whether
it wants to shape its future vision with or
without Turkey," he was quoted by the AFP news
agency as saying.
Mehmet Simsek, Turkey's deputy prime minister,
also criticised the decision, describing it on
Twitter as "populist" and "counter-productive.
Meanwhile, Carl Bildt, a former prime minister
of Sweden, said the vote showed a "populist
short-term rather than strategic long-term
approach to relations which Turkey".
Source : http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/11/turkey-dismisses-eu-parliament-vote-freeze-talks-161124161013628.html