French premier de Villepin was speaking on the Europe One radio station when he made the statement about Turkey and the Cyprus issue in regards to Turkey's upcoming EU accession talks. Said De Villepin, "It is inconceivable to me that a country could begin accession talks before it recognizes officially each of the 25 countries which make up the EU. France will let its views on this subject be known to Turkey along with the other EU countries."
EU Commission reassures Turkey
On the other hand, the EU Commission has made it clear that it does not see eye to eye with France regarding Cyprus and the start to Turkey's EU talks. EU Commission spokesperson Amadeu Altafaj said recently that as far as the commission was concerned, the place to solve the Cyprus dilemma was the UN, and that Turkey's possible recognition of Greek controlled Cyprus could not be held out as a prerequisite to October 3 accession talks.
FM Gul answers
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has said for his part in regards to De Villepin's recent statements that "We await continuing support from Franceon the accession talks. Turkey has carried through on all of its responsibilities. Following on the decision taken by the EU on December 17, we expect the EU accession talks to begin as planned on October 3."
