WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (AFP) - The United States on Wednesday said it was pleased with a recommendation from the European Union's executive arm that Turkey begin membership talks with the bloc and called for a quick start to the negotiations.
The State Department said that Washington, which has long lobbied in favor of NATO ally Turkey joining the European Union, would react favorably if the European Council decides in December to set a date for such discussions.
"We welcome the EU's positive recommendation on Turkey," deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said. "We have long supported Turkey's eventual membership in the European Union and would certainly welcome a European Council decision in December to set an early date to begin accession talks."
He added that the United States was also pleased that Turkey had reaffirmed its "strong commitment to continue reform" throughout the accession process.
Earlier Wednesday, the European Commission recommended the start of Turkey's accession talks but made it clear that Turkey could not join for at least a decade and warned that negotiations would be called off if it backtracked on human rights and democratic reforms.
And, the commissioners set no start date for the talks, leaving that up to the EU leaders at a mid-December summit.