Britain ups backing for Turkish EU bid

The political situation in a number of countries slated to join the EU is far less developed than that of Turkey, said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw after talks with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul in Istanbul, where both ministers attended a memorial service for victims of last November’s suicide attacks in the city.

Britain has long backed Ankara’s eventual EU membership, which has won more favor within the bloc since Turkey adopted democratic reforms and threw its weight behind revived Cyprus peace talks.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder delivered a similarly positive message last week during a visit to Turkey.

But some states are wary of opening talks with a relatively poor and predominantly Muslim country of 70 million people whose borders stretch to Iran. Some Christian Democrat politicians have suggested a special partnership for Turkey that falls short of membership.

Straw said Turkey had the right to become a member of the EU, just like Britain had 30 years ago and argued that Turkish accession would be in the interest of the union.

The British foreign secretary also praised Turkey’s reform efforts, saying the country has made "huge progress" under the current and previous governments.

Turkey was declared a candidate in 1999 but has remained the sole candidate that has not yet opened accession talks since then. EU leaders will review Turkey’s membership performance with a view to opening accession talks at a summit in December 2004.

The Turkish government has enacted a large number of reforms to meet the membership criteria of the EU as it strives to get the go-ahead to start accession talks in December.

Straw said he was optimistic about the outcome of the December summit. "We look forward to a positive decision," he said.

Straw was in Istanbul on Wednesday for a memorial service for Britons, including Consul General Roger Short, killed in a series of suicide bomb explosions last November in the city. The blasts were blamed on radical Islamists linked to global terror network al-Qaeda.

Praise for ‘positive approach’ on Cyprus
The British foreign secretary praised the Turkish government for its "positive approach" in the ongoing reunification talks in Cyprus before the island joins the EU on May 1.

"If Turkey carries on with its positive approach — and I am sure it will — no matter what the outcome is, Turkey will get nothing but praise and understanding," Straw said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, he had said there was no alternative plan for a settlement in Cyprus if a U.N. plan for reunification of the Turkish and Greek sides of the island is rejected by residents in referenda scheduled for April.

Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders have been holding talks for reunification of the two sides on the basis of a plan promoted by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan before the island joins the EU on May. The plan will be submitted to separate referenda in both sections of the island in April.

"We hope for a positive and successful outcome from the talks. There is no B plan," he said.

In remarks published in Hurriyet newspaper on Wednesday, Straw said he was confident that Greek and Turkish Cypriots would reach a peace deal that would allow their small Mediterranean island to join the EU reunited on May 1.

"[But] if we miss the deadline, the search for peace on Cyprus will become more difficult," he added.

Without a deal, only the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government will enter the EU, possibly harming Turkey’s own EU ambitions.

Although not a criterion for EU membership, the EU says failure to find a solution would be a serious obstacle to Turkey’s own aspirations to become a member.

‘Terrorism: Fight for us all’
Straw on Wednesday briefly examined the grounds of the British Consulate General — the site of a November suicide attack — before attending a memorial service for the dead.

Straw stopped at the site where British Consul General Short and his assistant, Lisa Hallworth, were killed when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden pickup truck into the main gate of the consulate on Nov. 20.

The attack was one of four suicide bombings in Istanbul in November blamed on al-Qaeda that killed a total of 63 people.

Before the memorial service, Short met Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler and expressed his gratitude for his efforts following the bombings.

Upon his arrival in Istanbul on Tuesday, Straw compared Tuesday’s terrorists attacks in Iraq and Pakistan to the Istanbul bombings. "Tragically, we have to remind ourselves again that terrorists have … no respect for women and children," he said. "International terrorism is a fight for us all."

The memorial service at the consulate had originally been scheduled to take place last month but was canceled because of a snowstorm.

Turkish prosecutors indicted 69 Turks, alleged al-Qaeda militants, last week in the Istanbul suicide bombings that targeted two synagogues, a London-based bank and the consulate.