Free trade pact would break EU-Turkey deadlock

Despite the resumption of rare high-level bilateral meetings between Turkey and EU member states lately, relations are far from retrieval.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Paris earlier this month, for instance, was beset with bitter messages from president Emmanuel Macron on Turkey's EU journey, as he openly remarked that political developments in Turkey were blocking its EU accession bid and the idea of a new partnership instead of full membership needs to be entertained.