LONDON, Oct 6 (AFP) - British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw praised the recommendation Wednesday by the European Union's executive arm that Turkey begin membership talks with the bloc, urging EU leaders to "deliver" on the deal with Ankara.
"Turkey has undergone remarkable changes over the last few years, putting in place the extensive reforms the EU asked of it," Straw, currently on a visit to Iraq, said in a statement released by the Foreign Office.
"The EU must now deliver its side of the bargain," he said.
He appealed to leaders of the 25 EU states, who make the final decision on Ankara's accession talks at a mid-December summit, to open the door to Ankara.
The European Commission's proposals -- widely leaked over the past week -- approved the start of Turkey's talks but set out a series of tough conditions and warned there was no guarantee of a successful outcome.
And they set no start date for the talks, expected to last at least a decade, leaving that up to the EU leaders at their December summit.
"The Commission's answer is yes.... It is a conditional yes," European Commission President Romano Prodi told the European Parliament, adding that Europe had nothing to fear from Turkish EU membership.
The EU executive approved the move Wednesday despite concerns from some naysayers that Turkey was simply too big and different to join the European club.
Straw, on the second day of his third visit this year to Iraq, was in Baghdad meeting with UN officials, and Iraqi politicians and election officials.