"Dutch, Turkish leaders tightlipped on EU offer 17/12/2004
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Dutch counterpart Jan Peter Balkenende voiced cautious hope early Friday after late-night talks on an EU offer for Ankara to start talks on joining the bloc. But they were mostly tightlipped and reluctant to answer journalists' questions on the EU offer, which depends in particular on a call for Ankara to recognize the government of Cyprus. 'It was a businesslike conversation and we are on track in the talks,' said Balkenende, who holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, after some two hours of talks broke up in the early hours. Erdogan, asked if he was hopeful for an accord, said: 'Let's hope it will be for the best.' "
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