BRUSSELS, Dec 17 (AFP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan began new talks Friday with key EU leaders in a bid to find a compromise to clear the way for the bloc to start membership talks with Ankara, diplomats said.
Erdogan held talks with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso, Britain's Tony Blair and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, an EU source said.
A spokesman for the Dutch EU presidency confirmed that Balkenende was in the talks, which came after a long-awaited offer to launch membership talks stalled in particular over Turkey's reluctance to recognize the Cypriot government.
The EU wants Turkey, which has been knocking on the European bloc's door for over four decades, to recognize the Cypriot government before starting talks next October.
Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since Turkish troops invaded its northern part in 1974. Ankara recognises only the Turkish Cypriot government, while the rest of the international community acknowledges the Greek Cypriots.
12/17/2004 12:59 GMT - AFP