OBAMA, SARKOZY CLASH OVER TURKEY’S EU BID

PanARMENIAN.Net
06.04.2009 10:48 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ U.S. President Barack Obama urged the European Union
on Sunday to accept Turkey as a full member of the 27-nation bloc,
in remarks rejected outright by France and met coolly by Germany.

The disagreement was a rare outward sign of divergence at an
EU-U.S. summit stage-managed to relaunch transatlantic ties that were
strained under the Bush administration and which both sides are now
eager to mend.

"The United States and Europe must approach Muslims as our friends,
neighbors and partners in fighting injustice, intolerance and violence,
forging a relationship based on mutual respect and mutual interests,"
Obama told the summit.

"Moving forward toward Turkish membership in the EU would be an
important signal of your (EU) commitment to this agenda and ensure that
we continue to anchor Turkey firmly in Europe," he told EU leaders.

Turkey has long been seeking to join the bloc, and Obama’s comments
were a reaffirmation of U.S. support for that goal.

But there is resistance among EU states such as Germany and France
to its membership, including among ruling conservatives.

Nicolas Sarkozy said it was up to the EU member states to decide
on Turkish entry and reiterated his opposition. "I have always been
opposed to this entry," he told France’s TF1 television.

"I still am and I think I can say that the immense majority of member
states shares the position of France," he said.

"Turkey is a very great country, an ally of Europe, an ally of the
United States. It will stay a privileged partner. My position hasn’t
changed and it won’t change," he said, Reuters reported.