ROME, Dec 16 (AFP) - Turkey will be an Islamic "Trojan horse" inside the European Union if it is allowed to join the bloc, to the advantage of Al-Qaeda terror chief Osama bin Laden and other extremists, Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi said in an interview with Italian radio reported Thursday.
"The Islamic world, including Islamic extremists up to bin Laden, is rejoicing at Turkey's entry. It is their Trojan horse," Kadhafi was quoted as saying by the daily La Repubblica in extracts from the RAI interview published before its broadcast.
Kadhafi said he had not opposed Turkey's EU membership but warned of its possible consequences.
"I say only that there will be consequences from the entry of this Trojan horse," he added, without elaborating.
EU leaders began gathering Thursday for a summit set to make a long-awaited decision on launching entry talks with Muslim majority but officially secular Turkey, widely expected to give Ankara a green light despite last-ditch haggling over the exact terms of the offer.
The EU leaders were set to agree a date for the start of talks, expected to be in the second half of 2005, but have warned that the negotiations will last for at least 10 years, and could be suspended in case of serious problems, while membership is not ultimately guaranteed.
12/16/2004 10:31 GMT - AFP