Turkey asks EU to correct 'mistake' of travel list exclusion

Turkey said on Wednesday it is disappointed by the European Union’s decision to exclude it from a list of countries recommended for non-essential travel and called on the bloc to correct the “mistake” as soon as possible, Reuters reports.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry statement came after the EU excluded Turkey, along with the United States and other countries, from its initial travel “safe list”.

“The measures Turkey has taken to combat the coronavirus pandemic, as well as her efforts and success in this respect, are evident,” ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in the statement.

“We expect the correction of this mistake regarding the travel restrictions for our citizens as soon as possible.”

READ: Turkey to extend coronavirus wage supports by a month 

There have been nearly 200,000 cases of coronavirus in Turkey, with a death toll of more than 5,100 and new daily cases currently running at around 1,300.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Tourism Minister Mehmet Ersoy will visit Berlin on Thursday for talks with German officials to discuss the pandemic and tourism among other issues. Germany is a key source of tourists for Turkey.

Earlier on Wednesday, President Tayyip Erdogan had told officials from his AK Party that Europe had maintained “restrictive” policies towards Turkey which were based on political rather than health factors.