Brussels - The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr Ismail Cem, ceded no ground to the EU yesterday in disputes over Cyprus and a new EU common defence policy.
Brussels wants Ankara to put pressure on the Turkish Cypriots to return to UN-mediated talks aimed at resolving the decades-old partition of Cyprus, made more urgent by Nicosia's fast progressing negotiations for EU membership. It also wants Turkey to drop its veto on granting the EU's planned rapid reaction force automatic access to NATO assets for operations where the alliance as a whole is not engaged. The Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Bulent Ecevit, earlier backed Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Rauf Denktash's refusal of a UN invitation to resume peace talks in New York this week.