Turkish president plays down Europe's impending vote on Turkish membership talks

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that his country will not recognize the result of an upcoming European vote on freezing negotiations with Turkey over its accession to the European Union.

"There will be a meeting at the European Parliament tomorrow, and they will vote on EU talks with Turkey," Erdogan said at a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation held in Istanbul.

"I'm saying this in advance: this vote has no value for us, whatever the result is," he added.

European parliamentarians on Tuesday called on the European Commission to impose a temporary freeze on accession talks with Turkey.

The European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, is expected to vote on an advisory resolution on Thursday.

EU nations have been criticizing Turkey over what they called "disproportionately repressive measures" adopted in the wake of a failed military coup in July, in which 246 people were killed.

More than 100,000 people have been suspended or dismissed in the ensuing crackdown, in which dozens of media outlets have been shuttered.

Ankara, for its part, has been critical of the EU over its stance toward the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is recognized as a terror group as well by the bloc and the United States, and an organization led by the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen who is accused of orchestrating the failed coup.

Turkey applied to join the EU in 1987 and started the accession talks in 2005. Endit