Turkey becoming a member of the European Union is "not on the cards" any time soon, UK Chancellor George Osborne has said.
"I don't frankly think Turkish accession is on the cards any time soon. We could, if we wanted to, veto it as other countries could," Osborne was quoted as saying by BBC.
"We can set conditions and we have made it absolutely clear that we will not accept new member states to the European Union and give them unfettered free movement of people unless their economies are much closer in size and prosperity to ours."
Talks on Turkey's bid for EU integration are being sped up as part of a deal which would see the country help tackle Europe's migrant crisis.
Last week, EU and Turkish leaders gathered in Brussels to discuss ways to ease the ongoing migration crisis which is engulfing Europe.
Under the plan –which is not yet finalized—all migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey would be returned. For each Syrian sent back, a Syrian already in Turkey would be resettled in the EU.
In return, Turkey would receive more funding and there would be faster progression on accession talks, including a relaxing of visa restrictions for Turkish citizens travelling to the EU.
