Recognition: Turkey appears to be softening its stance on refusing to recognise the Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia.
The EU expects Ankara to make such a shift - even indirectly - before membership talks open.
"Direct or indirect recognition of Cyprus is out of the question," Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told reporters with the Turkish delegation in Brussels as EU leaders sat down for talks over dinner last night.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, however, hinted after a day of intensive contacts with EU leaders that he might make the necessary gesture.
"We are always ready to take new steps on Cyprus, but what is important is the manner of the step," he said. "The weighting of the wording is important now."
Turkish officials said Mr Erdogan sought to persuade EU leaders not to describe negotiations as "open-ended" or mention possible permanent safeguards against labour migration from Turkey. But a joint statement by conservative and Christian Democratic EU leaders after a pre-summit meeting made clear that both those elements, and a call to move towards recognising Cyprus, would be in the final decision.
Turkey has insisted in the past that recognition of Cyprus depends on a settlement to reunite the east Mediterranean island under a UN peace plan which Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots accepted but Greek Cypriots rejected in April.
Mr Erdogan urged EU leaders not to set what Ankara sees as discriminatory conditions, and to open the doors of their wealthy bloc to a non-Christian nation.
Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos declined to rule a veto in or out. But EU diplomats said Cyprus was isolated in the bloc with most partners furious at its rejection of a UN peace plan and in no position to frustrate the general will.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after talks with Mr Erdogan he believed Turkey would extend its existing EU pact to the bloc's 10 new member-states, including Cyprus, giving it de facto recognition, before starting talks.
But a Greek official told reporters after Mr Erdogan met Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis that Mr Erdogan had stuck to his public position that he would have difficulty doing so on Cyprus. "Negotiations are very tough," the Greek official said.
Turkey's supporters see a chance to bridge a divide between Europe and the Islamic world by incorporating a vibrant Muslim democracy.
Opponents say Turkey would be hard to integrate and that the EU would risk "enlarging itself to death" by extending its borders to Iran, Iraq and Syria.
"I believe a deal on a date to start negotiations next year is achievable but I don't know if it will be achieved at this stage," said a spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose government is a firm backer of starting talks.
One source said the leaders were discussing next October 3rd as a possible start date for talks.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso urged Turkey to "go the extra mile" to show Europeans it was ready for membership talks.