BERLIN, Nov 21: Germany, home to Europe’s largest expatriate Turkish community and Ankara’s biggest backer in its EU membership bid, on Friday called on the bloc to welcome the mainly Muslim country following the deadly bombings in Istanbul.

A government spokesman said that it was in Europe’s interests to encourage further democratisation and stabilisation in Turkey.

He said a stable Turkey was “of exceptional importance” to developments in the overall Middle East region, including Iraq. “Its value as a bridge should not be underestimated.”

German Interior Minister Otto Schily urged the EU to give Ankara, which has long campaigned for membership, “real prospects” of entry.

Germany is home to around two million people of Turkish origin, thought to form the largest Turkish expatriate community in Europe.

“The response to what happened in Istanbul must be that we cooperate closer with Turkey,” Schily told ZDF public television in an interview late on Thursday, referring to the attacks earlier in the day which killed 27 people and injured hundreds more.

He called for “an honest dialogue” between EU and Turkish leaders in order to “seriously negotiate the prospects of Turkey’s EU entry, no matter how long that takes.”

Ankara has been a recognized EU candidate since December 1999.—AFP