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Ankara fumes as European Parliament votes to suspend EU talks

The European Parliament called on the European Union to halt membership negotiations with Turkey, citing a failure to respect the bloc’s standards on human rights, while Ankara accuses the legislators of giving in to right-wing populism.
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hold a news conference at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1571207A70

ISTANBUL — Turkey fired back at the European Parliament after it called for the suspension of membership negotiations over its human rights record, calling the resolution “worthless” and “discriminatory” and sounding an alarm about right-wing populism taking root in Europe.

On Wednesday, the Strasbourg-based assembly approved a report that said Ankara’s failure to protect rights and the rule of law and its transition to an executive presidential system last year that concentrates power in one man’s hands meant that the membership process should be frozen.

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