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Turkey slams EU parliament vote to freeze talks as "narrow-minded"

Xinhua, November 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Turkish government on Thursday slams the European Parliament's recommendation to freeze Ankara's European Union (EU) accession negotiations.

European Parliament approves motion to temporarily feeze accession talks with Turkey on Thursday, Turkish Hurriyet News reported.

"There are visionless and imprudent debates going on in Europe, instead of showing solidarity," Turkish chief negotiator Omer Celik said in reaction to the non-binding vote.

European Union lawmakers called on Thursday for a temporary halt to EU membership talks with Turkey because of Ankara's "disproportionate" reaction to July 15 failed coup attempt, although EU governments are unlikely to take heed.

Members of the European Parliament voted solidly in favor of a non-binding motion urging the European Commission and national governments to freeze ongoing negotiations. Some 479 of the votes were in favor, while 37 were against it with 107 abstentions. Endit