EU split over Turkish membership talks

European Union foreign ministers today struggled to agree on how to sanction Turkey for backtracking on a commitment to open its ports to trade with Cyprus, without alienating Ankara, which is negotiating to become the first mainly Muslim country to enter the EU.

Deeply divided over a proposal to partially suspend Turkey’s membership negotiations, officials acknowledged they were unlikely to agree – pushing the final decision to EU leaders who meet here at a two-day summit starting Thursday.