By Associated Press - Friday, May 3, 2019

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - Hungary’s foreign minister says the European Union should stop “misleading” Turkey about its prospects of membership in the bloc and instead offer it a “comprehensive strategic partnership.”

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Friday that his counterparts from some of the larger EU members reject Turkey’s membership at closed-door meetings, but don’t say so publicly.

Szijjarto also praised Turkey’s role in preventing some 4.5 million migrants, mostly Syrians, currently in Turkey from migrating to Europe, saying “Europe’s security today begins in Turkey.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also told reporters that Turkey and the United States are trying to work out a date for a possible visit to Turkey by President Donald Trump, amid a deepening rift between the NATO allies over Turkey’s purchase of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems.

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