Turkey not to withdraw EU membership: Turkish PM

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said that Turkey doesn't have any plan to withdraw its European Union membership request, warning the union to be attentive for its own future.

Speaking to Russian Sputnik and RIA Novosti during his official visit to Russia, Yıldırım recalled Turkey's warnings to Europe to contribute to the security of the continent instead of siding against Turkey.

"They should understand that they cannot provide the security of the continent without Turkey's contribution. They should take the right steps for the security of Europe and should be more attentive, " Yıldırım explained.

Yıldırım's remark is attributing to the European Parliament (EP) voting decision to freeze talks with Turkey over its EU accession.

The Turkish PM, who touched upon the ongoing Syrian war and the crisis that the war-torn country is witnessing, said that all their efforts are being applied to provide an agreement between moderate opposition groups and Russia.

"We should put our efforts into stopping the blood path in Syria," said Yıldırım, adding that both sides understand each other and ready to come to an agreement in this issue.

Russia became involved in the Syrian civil war in September of 2015 as the closest ally and the biggest supporter of the Bashar al-Assad regime of Syria which is fighting against moderate opposition fighters in Syria.

Turkish PM also said that the two parties initiated the efforts to trade in local currency, as Turkey is seeking to conduct trade with Russia, China and Iran in local currencies upon Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's call to do so.

"Our central banks are now trying to figure out how this new method could be realized," Yıldırım stated.

Previously on Saturday, Erdoğan said that he had proposed Russian President Vladimir Putin to conduct trade between the two countries with local currencies.

The recent inevitable rise of the U.S. dollar compared to the Turkish lira has caused volatility in the Turkish economy, especially after the U.S. presidential election was won by Donald Trump.

The lira fell to a record low of 3.60 against the dollar on Dec. 2, before seeing some rebound after a general decline in the dollar in global markets.

The Turkish premier's and President Erdoğan's visits urging Russia to trade in local currencies are a part of the normalization of the bilateral relations of Turkey and Russia and the economic measures against the dollar that gain value against Turkish lira.

Yıldırım's visit is another important milestone for Turkey-Russia relations after Turkish President Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met in the St. Petersburg province of Russia in August 2016, which initiated the thawing of chilly bilateral relations.

The premier's meeting accelerated efforts on economic, investment and cultural projects.

In November of 2015, a Russian jet which violated the Turkish airspace was downed by the Turkish army, which triggered tension between two countries which concluded with a series of sanctions, particularly economic.