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Solana hopes for Turkey accord on recognizing Cyprus
AFP: 12/16/2004

BRUSSELS, Dec 17 (AFP) - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Friday he was confident Turkey would make a "gesture" by recognizing Cyprus before it starts negotiations next October to join the bloc.

Asked if Turkey would be required to show de facto recognition of Cyprus by signing an additional protocol to its 1963 association accord with the EU's forerunner before launching membership talks, Solana said the issue was still on the table.

"This is a question which is not closed ... but it seems logical that a gesture will be made in order to meet the requirement of accepting all the members of the EU before you begin to negotiate to be part of the EU," he said.

"I hope that that will be the case. I don't see any logical difficulty on that. It seems to me so natural that I don't think there will be a difficulty on that."

Solana said it was fair to expect Turkey to recognize Cyprus, an EU member, before joining the bloc.

"That seems very normal if you want to be part of a family, it's very normal that you recognize all the members of the family," he said.

Solana welcomed the deal agreed by EU leaders at the start of a landmark summit Thursday evening inviting Turkey to begin EU membership negotiations on October 3, 2005.

"I believe the offer made tonight is constructive and very positive," he said.

He said final details on the accord would be hammered out on the second and final day of the summit Friday, after closed-doors talks with Dutch Prime Jan Peter Balkenende, who holds the rotating presidency of the EU