Remarks by President Donald Tusk after his meeting with Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoğlu

Thank you Prime Minister for a good meeting. We have been discussing difficult issues this morning.

We discussed terrorism where I reiterated my condemnation of the recent terrorist attacks here in Turkey. And where I assured the PM, as I did to the President yesterday, of Europe's continued strong commitment to fighting terrorism from PKK to Da'esh. When we discussed the terrorist threat from PKK, I also stressed how important it is to get the Kurdish peace process back on track.

We discussed the challenges of the war in Syria. Instability elsewhere in the region. And the refugee flows that have followed from these crises. All challenges that none of us can handle alone; where we are bound to cooperate.

That is why I have come to Ankara at this particular point in time. Not to lecture. And not to be lectured. But to assess the situation together with you and identify areas where our cooperation can be further strengthened. The EU and Turkey are already doing a lot together, but we both agree that more will be needed. On both sides.

I am confident that we can succeed. We are building on an already strong EU-Turkey partnership. Apart from advancing on migration, we could do more together in areas such as foreign policy, economic and trade relations, counter terrorism, mobility and energy cooperation. And I think we should.

From this trip I will bring home a number of important messages, which will assist me and the other European leaders in making the right policy choices when it comes to tackling the current refugee crisis in the days and weeks to come.

These will be difficult choices, but our starting-point is clear. Solidarity and unity are our guiding principles. In combination with measures to contain the refugee flows and measures to get back the control of our borders from those profiting from desperation, the smugglers and traffickers of human beings, we can and will handle this crisis as well, just as the European Union has handled so many crises before - and often in cooperation with close partners like Turkey.

I look forward, Prime Minister, to continuing this discussion with you when we hopefully meet again in New York during the UN General Assembly. Thank you