ANKARA, Nov 29 (AFP) - Turkey will agree to "no alternative" other than full membership in the European Union and wants a clear date for the start of accession talks from the 25-nation bloc's summit next month, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Monday.
"Turkey expects a clear date for the opening of accession negotiations" from the December 16-17 summit in Brussels, Gul told reporters after talks here with his Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Somogyi.
The negotiations should have no "special clauses" and aim only for Turkey's full EU membership, he added.
"There is no alternative other than full membership," Gul said, acknowledging that the duration of the talks would depend on Turkey's performance in adopting EU values.
Gul's remarks came against the backdrop of a Europe-wide debate on whether Turkey, a vast, Muslim-populated nation with a relatively poor economy, should be allowed into the EU or be given a special status.
While the British and German governments have expressed strong support for Ankara, another EU heavyweight, France, remains sceptical amid a deep rift among its leadership.
In the latest remarks to come from the French camp, Nicolas Sarkozy, just elected to lead the ruling Union for Popular Movement, said at the weekend that he favours giving Turkey special status rather than full membership.
"I want Turkey to be associated with Europe, but not integrated into the European Union," Sarkozy said, contradicting the support French President Jacques Chirac has given to Ankara.
Questioned about Sarkozy's remarks, Gul said Turkey already has special status with the EU through a customs union agreement signed in 1995.
"We are linked to the EU by a customs union, thus we already have a relationship that is special and which goes even beyond that," he said, adding that foreign policy matters in France are in the hands of the president.
Somogyi told a joint press conference here that Turkey should be given a "fair chance" to become a member of the pan-European bloc, but added that the outcome of accession talks would depend only on Turkey's performance.
"Nobody can be 100 percent sure of the outcome of the negotiations," Somogyi said.
Somogyi is scheduled to leave Turkey later Monday after meeting President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and parliament speaker Bulent Arinc.
11/29/2004 12:56 GMT - AFP