Turkey and France clashed today over whether Ankara should recognise Cyprus, a European Union member, before it begins its own EU entry talks in October.
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey could not accept any new conditions for opening the talks and said he had been upset by comments from France that Ankara must first accept the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government.
"It is out of the question for us to discuss or consider any new conditions," Mr Erdogan said. "We are saddened by the statements of the French prime minister and of President (Jacques) Chirac," he added.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said on Tuesday it was "inconceivable" that Turkey start talks with the EU without recognising one of its 25 member states, though he did not say Paris would deploy its veto.
Mr Chirac has traditionally backed Turkey's EU bid but now faces growing opposition among French voters to admitting the large, relatively poor, mainly Muslim country into the wealthy bloc.
Maintaining pressure on Ankara, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy repeated Mr Villepin's criticism today. "Not wanting to recognise one country in the Union while wanting to join, that's not acceptable," Mr Douste-Blazy told Le Mondenewspaper in an interview. "We would like there to be an extensive discussion on this question within the EU."
The talks are expected to last many years and Turkey is not seen joining the EU before 2015 at the earliest.
Ankara recognises only a breakaway Turkish Cypriot enclave in the north of Cyprus. The island has been split along ethnic lines since Turkish troops invaded in 1974 after a brief Greek Cypriot coup backed by the military junta then ruling Greece.
France can block the start of talks - as can Cyprus - as the 25 EU states must approve a negotiating mandate unanimously before they can begin.
Turkey cleared the last formal hurdle to the start of its entry talks last Friday by signing a protocol extending its customs union to new EU members including Cyprus. But Ankara also issued a declaration making clear the signing did not mean a change in its stance over the island, whose Greek Cypriot government is viewed in Brussels as the sole legitimate authority.
Turkey says recognition can come only after a comprehensive peace settlement on the Mediterranean island.