Turkey calls on UK to remain in EU 'under any circumstances'

Turkey's foreign minister has said Britain must stay in the European Union "under any circumstances," a day before the UK was due to vote in a referendum on its future status.

Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday that Turkey "desires Britain to stay in the EU... under any circumstances... Britain’s exit would certainly have a negative impact."

But he also said the EU would weaken if it failed to “renew itself, correct wrong policies and produce solutions to problems faced by European people, and stand against negative trends like racism and xenophobia”.

He said EU efforts on such issues would be “only half done” if it excluded Turkey. “The EU should not be scared of a strong Turkey, and instead cooperate with a strong Turkey.”

London has in the past been a strong supporter of Ankara’s struggling bid to join the European Union. In 2010 Prime Minister David Cameron called on France and Germany to not shut Turkey “out of the club”.

However, Cameron recently said Turkish membership was not “remotely on the cards” and was not happening until "the year 3000".

Turkish membership to the EU has played a prominent role in the campaign leading up to Britain's referendum.

Campaigners calling for the UK to leave the EU have described the UK being "swamped" by millions of Turks if it chose to stay in the EU.

Critics of the leave campaign have described its warning that Turkey’s accession to the EU would lead Britain to being at greater risk of crime as "appealing to prejudice".

Turkey applied for membership in 1987 and began accession talks with Brussels in 2005. For Turkey to qualify for EU membership it must fulfil the criteria set out in the accession treaty between Turkey and the European Commission.

All 28 member states must agree unanimously on a new member joining.

Despite repeated rows with the bloc on issues ranging from press freedom to a crackdown on Kurdish groups, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists that EU membership remains a strategic goal for Ankara.

The EU is due to start another round of talks with Turkey at the end of this month.