EU could face more exits: Turkish president

The Turkish president blames “Islamophobia” for delaying his country’s accession to the European Union, and warns that more countries could follow Britain's suit in leaving the bloc.

“The practice currently against Turkey is Islamophobia, that is why they are delaying taking us in,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised speech late on Friday, Press TV reported.

Erdogan made the remarks hours after the results of a referendum in the UK, popularly known as Brexit, showed that a majority of Britons voted to leave the EU after 43 years of membership.

He added that the UK’s exit from the bloc following the referendum has roots in the union’s double standards.

“If the European Union deepens its inconsistencies and continues on its path, in a short time it will be inevitable for it to face new exits,” Erdogan stated.

In the Thursday referendum, some 51.90 percent of British voters opted to leave the EU, while roughly 48.10 percent of people voted to stay in the union. More than 17.4 million Britons said the country should leave the bloc, as just over 16.14 million others favored remaining in the EU.

Ankara's accession had become a hot-button issue in the run-up to the UK’s Brexit referendum, especially as supporters of the “Leave” camp argued that the membership will open the doors for millions of Turks to enter Britain.

SS