Turkey 'will not compromise over Cyprus'

Turkey’s prime minister said today that his country would not compromise on opening its ports to Cyprus, defying a European Commission recommendation that Turkey’s EU membership talks be suspended over its failure to do so.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would analyse new proposals to resolve the Cyprus dispute. But, he said, “There will be no concessions from us.”

Turkey refuses to open its ports and airports to EU member Cyprus and props up a Turkish Cypriot government on the north of the island that no other country in the world recognises.

Turkey insists that the international embargo against Turkish Cypriots be lifted before it will trade with Greeks in the south of the island.

The European Commission’s recommendation to suspend EU membership talks over the conflict marked a blow to Turkey’s decades-old attempt to join the union, but final approval for the partial suspension lies with EU leaders at a December 14-15 summit in Brussels. Erdogan said the decision was “unacceptable,” but that it would not mean the end of Turkey’s EU bid.