BYEGM- At a press conference yesterday, French President Jacques Chirac expressed support for Turkey’s European Union membership in the long term. Commenting on the EU enlargement process, Chirac claimed that for the time being Turkey was not ready to join the EU ranks, but added that after full implementation of EU reforms its membership might be possible. Highlighting the EU Commission report on Turkey due this October, Chirac said, “There are two possibilities: The commission may say that it needs some more time to begin accession talks, or else that Ankara has implemented the criteria and is ready to begin negotiations.” He stated that even when Turkey begins its negotiations, they may take a long time, “in the perspective of 10 to 15 years,” and added that Turkey’s future lay in Europe. In response to a question, Chirac said that recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide would not be a precondition for Turkey’s membership. “This issue concerns only the two states, Turkey and Armenia,” said the French leader. Stating that he was satisfied with recent positive developments between Ankara and Yerevan, Chirac added, “Bilateral relations should not be evaluated only through the lens of the past.”