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Turkish foreign minister Gul meets EU officials on extending customs

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  • Turkish foreign minister Gul meets EU officials on extending customs

    Turkish foreign minister Gul meets EU officials on extending customs
    accord to Cyprus

    AP Worldstream
    Apr 26, 2005

    CONSTANT BRAND


    Turkey's foreign minister Abdullah Gul met top European Union
    officials Tuesday to discuss how the two sides could implement a deal
    to expand Ankara's EU customs agreement to include Cyprus, a key
    requirement to starting membership talks.

    The 25-nation EU was also to review Ankara's progress in enforcing
    widespread reforms it wants completed before Turkey can start EU entry
    talks this October. Those measures include boosting reform of the
    judiciary and implementing minority rights.

    The most sensitive item on the agenda was how Turkey would implement
    the customs protocol, which Ankara said it would sign before the
    planned start of entry talks in October.

    Signing up to the protocol is seen by many EU countries, but not
    Cyprus, as a de facto recognition by Turkey of the Greek Cypriot
    government.

    However, Turkey and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn have argued
    the protocol does not give such recognition, and is simply the
    extension of a customs union to the 10 new member states which joined
    last year.

    Cyprus remains divided between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

    Only the Greek Cypriot part of the island acceded to the EU last
    year. Greek Cypriots rejected a U.N. reunification plan in a
    referendum just before joining the EU. Turkish Cypriots voted
    overwhelmingly to approve it.

    European nations, the United States and others do not recognize the
    Turkish Cypriot republic in the southern part of the island.

    Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 to block a coup by Greek Cypriots, and
    decades of diplomacy have failed to reunite the Mediterranean
    island. About 40,000 Turkish troops remain in northern Cyprus, which
    is controlled by Turkish Cypriots.

    EU leaders made the signing of the protocol a precondition for opening
    entry talks, which they made clear gives no guarantee of eventual
    membership.

    French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said Monday it expects a "long
    negotiating process" and reiterated that France would bring up the
    touchy issue of recognition of the Armenian killings during World War
    I which the French parliament has called a genocide.

    "We will pose this question and we want a response," Barnier said,
    adding the "European project is one of reconciliation."

    Earlier this month Gul said his government was calling on Armenia to
    jointly research the killings. Armenia accuses Turkey of genocide in
    the killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians as part of a campaign to
    force them out of eastern Turkey.

    Ankara has denied this.
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