Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday Turkey could not accept any new conditions for the opening of entry talks with the European Union on October 3.

In his first public reaction to comments from French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin suggesting Ankara must recognize EU member Cyprus before starting the talks, Erdogan said: "We are saddened by the statements of the French prime minister and of President (Jacques) Chirac."

Chirac has not publicly commented on Turkey's EU talks since Villepin made his comments on Tuesday, but the French daily Le Figaro, quoting unnamed ministers, reported that the president had told a cabinet meeting he agreed with his prime minister.

Chirac's office declined to comment on the report. Chirac has traditionally backed Turkey's EU bid but now faces growing opposition among French voters to admitting the large, relatively poor, mainly Muslim country into the wealthy bloc.

Erdogan, in televized remarks to reporters, said Chirac had assured him in the past that he did not believe Turkey needed to recognize Cyprus before the accession talks begin.

"We don't want it to be like this. From now on, we are getting ready for October 3... We will start the negotiations on October 3. We think only of the negotiations," he said.

Villepin cast doubt on the October 3 date on Tuesday by saying Ankara must recognize the internationally accepted Greek Cypriot Government by then. Turkey recognizes only the Turkish Cypriot enclave in the north of the divided island.

In remarks published yesterday in Le Monde newspaper, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said: "not wanting to recognize a country of the Union, even while wanting to enter that's not acceptable."

"We hope there will be a thorough discussion within the EU about this question," Douste-Blazy said. "We cannot act like it did not exist... It's a demand for clarification."

France can block the start of talks as can Cyprus as the 25 EU states must approve a negotiating mandate unanimously before they can begin. Villepin said France would decide its position after talks among EU foreign ministers in September.

Turkey cleared the last formal hurdle to the start of its entry talks last Friday by signing a protocol extending its customs union to new EU members including Cyprus.

But Ankara also issued a declaration making clear the signing did not mean a change in its stance on the divided island, whose Greek Cypriot Government is viewed in Brussels as the sole legitimate authority.

Turkey says recognition can come only after a comprehensive peace settlement on the Mediterranean island.

Turkey's refusal to recognize EU-member Cyprus has become a contentious issue in its bid to join the bloc.

(China Daily August 5, 2005)