The jailed mayor of Constantinople, Ekrem Imamoglu, has warned the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, not to compare Turkey to Russia and China.

“Putting Turkey on the same level as Russia and China contradicts the geopolitical realities and strategic interests of the EU itself,” Imamoglu wrote in an opinion piece published Tuesday in Politico.

He also admits that the Turkish government is “undermining the rule of law and fundamental rights”, and accuses the EU of swinging “between principles and interests in its relations with Turkey, unable to articulate a strategic vision.”

He further urged the EU to engage more with Turkish history and social realities and to “stop looking at Turkey through the prism of fear, clichés and short-sighted political calculations.”

The former mayor responds to von der Leyen’s recent statement that “we must successfully complete the European continent so that it does not fall under Russian, Turkish or Chinese influence.”

Imamoglu, a key political rival of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has not given up hope for his country’s EU membership, although he holds both sides responsible for the long delay in the process.