"Erdogan pledges no delay on Cyprus in EU bid
By Staff Reporter
TURKISH Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan pledged yesterday there would be no delay in signing a document extending Turkey's agreement with the European Union to all new EU members, including Cyprus.
EU leaders said last month that Turkey must extend the so-called Ankara Agreement to all 25 member states before it may open negotiations to join the wealthy bloc on Oct. 3.
The move is highly sensitive in Turkey because it is seen by diplomats as tantamount to de facto recognition of the internationally recognised Cypriot government without a peace deal.
Erdogan said Turkey was scrutinising the legal terms of the agreement. 'We shall be concluding these initiatives and we do not wish to have any delay,' he told a news conference at the World Economic Forum.
He declined to say when Turkey would sign the accord but said he had discussed the path to the start of accession talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn in private meetings in Davos."
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