ANKARA, Dec 14 (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted Tuesday that his country deserved nothing less than full membership of the European Union and warned the pan-European bloc against making a "historic mistake" at a crunch summit in two days time.
"We have said on several occasions that we will not accept a decision that is not based on a perspective of full membership and which offers special status" instead, Erdogan told lawmakers of his Justice and Development Party (AKP).
"I believe the EU will not approve a historic mistake which will weaken its own foundations, and will make a decision in line with Turkey's expectations" at its summit Thursday and Friday in Brussels, he added.
The summit of the 25 European Union nations is expected to give the green light to start membership talks with Turkey, but with a set of strict conditions and a warning that the process is likely to take at least a decade.
In a speech interrupted by ovations, Erdogan listed what he expects from the Brussels summit against the background of what he described as Ankara's non-negotiable demands.
"What needs to be done is clear: unconditional full membership, a clear negotiating process without the need for a second decision and no new political conditions apart from the Copenhagen criteria," the set of standards candidate countries must fulfill to be eligible for membership talks, Erdogan said.
He insisted that his government had met all the criteria required to begin accession talks, by carrying out major democracy and human rights reforms adopted over the past two years, and said he now expects the EU to do its part.
"We, as a country, have done what we had to do to start the membership talks," Erdogan said. "The rest is the responsibility of the EU."
But divisions are still rife in the European Union with no agreement as to when membership talks should start with Turkey and calls by some member countries to offer Ankara a "special partnership" should negotiations fail.
Turkey has categorically rejected the idea of such a partnership and says it wants membership talks to start in 2005.
Draft summit conclusions leaked to the press warn that membership talks with Turkey could be suspended if Turkey flagrantly violates EU principles, and gives no guarantee that the talks will end in membership.
"The open-ended nature of negotiations carries a dangerous uncertainty not only about the outcome of the negotiations but also their objective," Erdogan said at a lunch here with the ambassadors of EU member countries.
"We can keep up our enthusiasm for progress only if all question marks over the ultimate target of negotiations are cleared from our minds," he added.
The draft also says the EU reserves the right to impose permanent restrictions on freedom of movement, in a bid to prevent a massive influx of immigrants from Turkey, and says Ankara must recognise EU member Cyprus.
But in a speech to parliament, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul slammed the proposal for such permanent safeguards as illegitimate, and vowed Ankara would make no "direct or indirect move" to recognize Cyprus unless there is a lasting settlement to the island's division.
Turkey recognizes only the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north of Cyprus, and not the internationally-recognized Greek Cypriot government in the south.
"Turkey's expectation is for the EU to stay loyal to and honour its previous signatures. This is a justified and legitimate expectation," Gul said.
Erdogan and Gul are set to travel to Brussels on Wednesday for last-minute talks with EU counterparts before the crucial summit decision.

12/14/2004 17:50 GMT - AFP