In a speech delivered in Ankara on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that Europe’s security would be inconceivable without Turkey. He emphasized that Turkey views its EU membership process as a ‘strategic priority,’ given that Turkey is an inseparable part of Europe. Erdogan criticized Europe for spreading Islamophobia and cultural racism in areas where millions of Muslims reside, and condemned the attacks on the Quran, calling any justification of such acts as freedom ‘unacceptable.’