Hollande: Turkey's EU accession talks should go on

French President Francois Hollande on Monday expressed support for the continuation of Turkey's EU accession negotiations, adding that a final decision on his country's stance would be for French people. "Turkey's EU membership talks must continue with transparency, respect and bona fide," Hollande said in a joint press conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul. The French President underlined that Turkey's accession to the EU is not on the country's agenda right now, pointing out that only 14 chapters have been confirmed since the launch of the talks in 2005. "Even after the negotiation process is over, the related nations will decide if Turkey will be granted membership or not." With regard to his country stance of Turkey's bid to join the EU, Hollande said "the final decision will be with the French people. There is no meaning in agitating fears." The two leaders have also touched upon the conflict in Syria and Turkey's role in tackling the humanitarian crisis. "Turkey hosted over 700,000 Syrian refugees even though they didn't have to. If Turkey hadn't had opened its borders for them, we would have been talking about a much more dramatic scene right now," Hollande said. "Geneva II shouldn't be about ensuring the Syrian regime's position; it should be about forming a transitional period." For his part, Turkish President Gul said that Turkey is hoping to avoid any political obstacles in the discussion regarding its EU membership process. "The negotiation period is a technical process that includes the adoption of legal, economical, democratic, and judicial norms. Our main desire is that this process would not be blocked by political reasons," he said. "I believe Turkey's full membership will be valuable for both the European Union and France."