ANKARA, Aug 31 (AFP) - Turkey is considering steps to include Cyprus into a customs union between Ankara and the European Union, but such a move would not amount to a recognition of the Greek Cypriot government, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Tuesday.
"There is work under way on this issue. But this would never mean a political recognition," Gul told the NTV news channel in an interview.
Turkey, which is not an EU member, entered into a customs union with the pan-European bloc in 1995.
The divided island of Cyprus, represented by its internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot side, joined the EU on May 1 but has so far been excluded from participation in the overall EU customs union with Turkey because it has no formal diplomatic ties with Ankara.
"Everybody knows that political recognition is out of the question but we have some responsibilities on other issues," Gul said, adding that the Greek Cypriots had already lifted restrictions on the circulation of Turkish goods on their territory.
Brussels has put pressure on Ankara to resolve the issue.
A last-ditch effort to reunify Cyprus' Greek and Turkish communities before EU accession failed in April when Greek Cypriots rejected a UN peace plan that Turkish Cypriots endorsed.
Cyprus has been split since 1974 when Turkey occupied the north in response to a Greek Cypriot coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece.
Turkey still keeps 30,000 troops in the Turkish Cypriot north and does not recognize the Greek Cypriot administration.
EU officials have said the customs union problem will not have a bearing on Turkey's prospects of opening membership talks with the Union.
The Greek Cypriots, however, will have a say in the decision, to be taken in December, in their capacity of a member of the 25-nation bloc.