Erdogan hopes EU tensions are in past

SOFIA, Bulgaria - President of the European Council Donald Tusk, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on Monday in Varna to keep up bilateral dialogue.

"Today's EU-Turkey meeting reaffirms the importance both sides give to our relationship," Tusk said at a joint press conference after a working dinner, hosted by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov as the leader of the country holding the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

On migration and support for refugees, the EU and Turkey remained very close partners, Tusk said. "I would like to express our appreciation for the impressive work Turkey has been doing, and to sincerely thank Turkey and the Turkish people for hosting more than three million Syrian refugees these past years," he said.