Remarks by President Donald Tusk after his meeting with President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Thank you, Mr President, for the hospitality you have shown me today in Ankara. My visit takes place in a difficult context, both here in Turkey, in this region and also in Europe. Our common experience is that we need solidarity, loyalty and friendship, in practise.

In the last weeks, Turkey has witnessed a number of brutal terrorist attacks. Terrorism, wherever it takes place, whomever it targets, and whoever bears the responsibility for it, must be strongly condemned. We are also confronted with terrorist threats in the European Union. Let me re-assure you that the European Union wants to cooperate closely with Turkey against terrorism. We continue to be committed to fight against PKK's presence in Europe.

I am also worried about the attacks against the People's Democratic Party headquarters and the Hurriyet newspaper, here in Ankara. I hope that trust will again be restored, and the rule of law will prevail.

The ceasefire in 2013 between Turkey and the PKK was received with hope and relief by all EU countries. We continue to believe that this was the right choice: in fact there is no reasonable alternative.

Today, the main reason I am here is the refugee crisis. The first condition of effective action is the rebuilding of international solidarity. This is why I call on all of us to stop blaming each other, and instead to focus on full and comprehensive cooperation. This ongoing blame game will not move us even a step closer towards solving the migration crisis.

I have come to Ankara because I believe that Turkey can play a key role in bringing stability back to the region, especially in Syria. This demands full determination in fighting against terrorism in its every form. There won't be any stability as long as the cards will be dealt by Da'esh, as long as the cards will be dealt by the smugglers and human traffickers.

Europe finds itself today under huge pressure. We have no doubt that the EU remains the preferred destination for the refugees because Europe is the most open and tolerant society in the world. And no matter what, Europe will stay the course and remain the most open and tolerant society, also for refugees. From the very beginning of this crisis we undertake actions to rescue peoples lives.

Today I want to declare that the EU is determined to act stronger than ever before. Our cooperation with Turkey on this, is our top priority. We should look for answers to the most pressing issue, not only in the EU but also in the region where the sources of this crisis lie.

It is exactly today that the outline of the plan of action on the refugee crisis was presented by the President of the European Commission to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

I came here to listen. I came here to share our ideas with you and discuss how we can work better together to help solve this crisis.

I look forward to our discussions tonight and when we meet again in Brussels early October. Thank you.