"Tassos: ball in Turkey’s court for EU prospects
By Michele Kambas
CYPRUS yesterday said the European Union had the ability to pull the “handbrake” on accession talks with Turkey if the reasons were serious enough.
The reminder came as diplomats gear up for a showdown with Turkey this year over Cyprus, represented in the bloc by a Greek Cypriot government not recognised by Ankara.
“We hope that the process of Turkey towards the European Union will soon convince Turkey that there are greener pastures elsewhere,” said Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos.
“There is no country which does not want Turkey to negotiate its accession to the EU. There is no country which is prepared to stop negotiations unless there is a very serious reason,” he said at a meeting with foreign correspondents."
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