Ankara Accuses EU in Blackmail

PanARMENIAN.Net - As Turkey-EU relations enter a critical period, the Turkish government replied harshly to the EU term president Finland's deadline of Dec.6 for the Cyprus issue, reports the Zaman. Assessing Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen's statement that the deadline for the Cyprus issue was the first week of December, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "We will not take any steps if unacceptable proposals are put before us."



Erdogan noted that Minister Gul will head to Helsinki on Saturday after wrapping up talks with technocrats and administrators. Gul said: "If we can find a way to settle the issue, we will welcome it, but Turkey has done its duty. Turkey's expectation when signing the protocol was that the EU would start free trade with Turkish Cypriots." "This cannot be done through blackmailing and deadlines," the foreign minister said.