We don't need you, Erdogan tells US and EU

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) - Turkey no longer needed its two long-time Western allies, the United States and the European Union President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Friday.

Speaking to provincial heads of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) during a meeting in Ankara, Erdogan accused the US and EU of trying to push his country away from the Western camp.

"They are still wasting our time. It is not us but rather you who are going to run away from this [wrestling mat]," he said of the EU with which Ankara has been in decades-long negotiations for accession.

"If you are sincere, make a statement and let's finish this [process]. We do not need you. There is a formula of mutual needs," the Turkish President added, calling for an end to talks over joining the EU during his televised speech.

EU-Turkey relations have immensely soured over the past year with Erdogan lashing out charges of Nazism, racism, xenophobia, and support for "terrorists" against member states, such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium where the union is seated.

In response, European countries pointed out at reports of widespread human rights violations under Erdogan's rule particularly in the aftermath of a failed military coup attempt last year.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said earlier last month she would seek an end to Turkey’s membership talks with the EU.

Both Berlin and Amsterdam have expressed exasperation with what they view as Erdogan's attempts to influence voters of Muslim and Turkish origin during elections in the two countries this year.

On Thursday, Erdogan told another audience that Turkey did not need the US either.

He was criticizing Washinton's suspension of all non-immigrant visas in its diplomatic facilities in Turkey, a harsh measure taken against Ankara's continued detention of several Americans, and at least two consular employees.

Though he still preferred to put the blame on the US ambassador to Ankara, John Bass whom the State Department defended this week and reiterated full support from the White House.

He went on complaining that Washington, a NATO ally, continued to provide weapons to Kurdish forces battling the Islamic State (IS) in Syria.

"When we ask for weapons to buy with our own money, you refer to the Congress. But you give arms to the terrorist group," he said.

"Why? To siege Turkey from the south," he added, accusing the US of creating a Kurdish belt in Syria and Iraq, prospects Ankara fears may embolden Kurdish populace within its border in demanding self-rule and rights.

Editing by Ava Homa