EU chiefs to visit Turkey on April 6

Brussels, March 30 The Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council will visit Turkey on April 6, a spokesperson for the European Union (EU) announced.

Taking to Twitter on Monday, the spokesman Barend Leyts said that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Charles Michel will hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on April 6, reports Xinhua news agency.

The meeting comes after EU leaders discussed the bloc's relations with Turkey.

Following that meeting, Michel had said the EU was in touch with Turkish authorities to organise the meeting.

The EU leaders on March 25 agreed to relaunch cooperation with Turkey in a "phased, proportionate and reversible" manner in the fields of trade and migration.

They decided to launch high-level dialogues with Turkey on issues of mutual concern, such as public health, climate, counter-terrorism as well as regional issues.

"The European Union is ready to engage with Turkey in a phased, proportionate, and reversible manner to enhance cooperation in a number of areas of common interest and take further decisions at the European Council meeting in June," stated the conclusions from the summit.

During their visit, the top EU officials are expected to discuss a number of issues between the sides, including renewed efforts to strengthen EU-Turkey relations as well as the customs union Turkey had with the bloc.

Since last year, Turkey had been at odds with EU member states Greece and Cyprus over maritime boundaries and natural gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean.

( With inputs from IANS )