Turkey's chief EU negotiator said on Thursday Ankara would not walk away from Finnish-led discussions over Cyprus aimed at avoiding a crisis in Turkey's European Union membership bid.
Ali Babacan's comments follow an announcement by Cyprus's Foreign Minister George Lillikas on Wednesday that he will not attend a Finnish-hosted meeting of EU and Mediterranean foreign ministers next week unless Turkey changes its stance on the divided island.
"The Finnish presidency is exploring some ideas ... we know it is difficult," Babacan, who is also economy minister, told a World Economic Forum in Istanbul. "We will not be the ones walking away from discussions, we are there to talk."
His comments seemed aimed at letting Cyprus take the blame for any failure in the negotiations. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is due to attend the talks in Finland, which holds the rotating EU presidency.
The EU wants Turkey to open its ports to shipping from EU member Cyprus, but Ankara says the bloc must first lift trade restrictions against breakaway Turkish Cypriots it backs in the north of the divided Mediterranean island.
Finland wants a deal before a European Commission meeting on December 6 and does not want the issue to go to an EU summit on December 14-15. Brussels has warned Turkey of unspecified consequences if it fails to open its ports in December.
Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni of Greece, Cyprus's closest ally, said on Thursday Finland's efforts could lead to a "dead end" if a key Cypriot demand is dropped from discussions, as Greek media have suggested it might be.
Babacan reiterated Ankara's position that the United Nations, not the EU, should handle the Cyprus issue, noting that northern Cyprus voted "Yes" in a 2004 referendum on a plan to reunite the island. The Greek Cypriots, whose government is recognised by the international community as the sole legitimate representative of the whole island, rejected the UN plan. Babacan said the EU was not acting fairly on Cyprus.