British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday said Turkey achieved major progress in democracy and human rights.
"Let's not forget as we debate these events in Istanbul, the progress Turkey has made over a decade to move to a more democratic and human rights country," her told BBC World News's "World Have Your Say" program when asked to comment on Turkish government's handling of demonstrations triggered by a development plan at Taksim Gezi Park, a green area in Istanbul's city center.
On Turkey's European Union bid membership, Cameron said "I believe that it will be good for the EU and Turkey, if Turkey were to join EU. I think that would be a good step forward, I've always supported that."
"Obviously the EU has whole set of rules and obligations that countries have to meet and we should recognize the fact that over the last decade Turkey has made a huge amount of progress on issues like democracy and human rights," Cameron added.
Regarding the demonstration at Gezi Park, Cameron said "it's difficult to know from where you sit in London, exactly how things are being policed in Istanbul. I hope that everyone can exercise their responsibilities in the right way and everyone wants to see these issues resolved. I know the Turkish prime minister has been meeting with demonstrators over the last 24 hours so we would hope all these issues can be resolved".
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