Former EU ambassador to Ankara, Marc Pierini, gave an interview to Ahval, and spoke about Turkey's application for EU membership and a turning point for the country's relations with its Western allies.

According to Pierini, the Turkish appeal's court could not have chosen a worse time to overturn the acquittal in the case of businessman Osman Kavala and a number of other civil society figures in the Gezi case.

Turkey abandoned a certain defense architecture in NATO many years ago, Pierini said, turning instead to Russia's S-400 air defense systems.

Moreover, Turkey obstructed Europe’s defense architecture and is perceived as a very unlikely opportunity to return to a purely NATO position. So the Europeans should worry about that, the ambassador said.

According to Pierini, Turkey's application for EU membership has been completed and new transitional relations are taking shape.

Referring to the statement by EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell in the European Parliament (EP) on the need for actions from Ankara, Pierini said the EP will not allow significant progress in relations with Turkey without some changes in the field of human rights and the rule of law, because this is the nature of a democratic society.

According to the former ambassador, 2020 was a turning point in Turkish-EU relations, as several issues have accumulated.

European investors who want to truly invest in Turkey see a politicized judicial system when they look at Turkey, he added.