French President Jacques Chirac criticised Turkey on Friday for saying its signing of a key European Union protocol did not change its stance on Cyprus, increasing pressure on Ankara over its EU membership bid.
He told EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso during talks in Paris that Ankara's declaration "poses political and legal problems and that it is not in the spirit expected of a candidate to the Union," Chirac's spokesman said.
In another potentially worrying development for Turkey, German conservative leader Angela Merkel wrote to European leaders seeking support for a proposal to offer Turkey a status short of full EU membership if entry talks fail.
Her position is shared by several leading conservative politicians in Europe, notably the likely French presidential candidate Nicholas Sarkozy, though others such as Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi back Turkey's entry bid.
Turkey is due to start accession talks on October 3 but faces strong public opposition in some EU member states, notably France, though Chirac backed the EU's decision last December to invite Turkey to start entry talks.
Turkey cleared the last obstacle to the talks last month by signing what is known as the Ankara protocol extending its customs union to new EU members including Cyprus.
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