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ANKARA, March 22-- Turkish president and EU's senior officials will convene on March 26 in the current EU presidency Bulgaria's resort city of Varna in a bid to resume dialogue between Ankara and Brussels. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with a large delegation of ministers, will meet Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, and Boyko Borisov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria. "This will be a good opportunity to jointly assess matters of mutual interest and recent developments in your country, including in the area of rule of law and fundamental freedoms, which remain fundamental to the fabric of and prospects for EU-Turkey relations, as well as regional and international issues," read an invitation letter from Tusk to Erdogan. The meeting comes after Turkey's recent attempts to defuse tensions with some European countries, primarily Germany, and to improve strained and stalled relations with Brussels after a deep crisis erupted mainly over the Turkish government's crackdown after the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. Relations further deteriorated after a constitutional referendum that strengthened President Erdogan's powers in April 2017. The latest meeting between the two sides in this format took place in May 2017 and both decided to revive regular meetings on cooperation areas. Yet, Ankara and Brussels continued ups and downs, and direct communication mechanisms could not produce a real advance in bilateral ties. | 
