BRUSSELS, Dec 17 (AFP) - Friday`s accord by EU leaders to open membership talks with Turkey shows that those who warn of a "clash of civilisations" are wrong, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said as he welcomed the deal.
Blair said the deal that will see Brussels open accession talks with Ankara in October -- when Britain will hold the EU presidency -- was "historic".
"I`m pleased that it`s come to a successful conclusion," he told reporters.
"It shows that those who believe that there is some fundamental clash of civilisations between Christians and Muslims are actually wrong, that we can work together, that we can cooperate together."
Blair, a staunch supporter of bringing Turkey into the European family, was speaking at the end of a two-day EU summit that was dominated by haggling over the terms of the offer to Ankara.
The thesis of a worldwide "clash of civilisations" was put forth in the mid-1990s by US international relations scholar Samuel Huntington, and gained currency after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Britain sees NATO ally Turkey`s quest for EU membership in geopolitical terms, arguing that it would help sow democratic principles through the greater Middle East region.
Blair noted that Friday`s deal included an "indication" from Turkey of its readiness to extend a 1963 accord with the European Union to the 10 newest EU member states.
Those 10 nations include the predominantly Greek republic of Cyprus, which Ankara still does not recognise 30 years after Turkey invaded in support of the breakaway Turkish entity on the north side of the island.
"Of course that doesn`t amount to legal recognition of Turkey by Cyprus," Blair said, "but nevertheless I think there is a real sense of people wanting to work together and come together."
Blair stressed that much work remains to be done, and that it could be 10 years before Turkey -- with its fledgling democratic institutions and its emerging economy -- will be able to take its seat at the EU table.
But he cheered the fact that Turkey is being promised nothing less than full membership once negotiations are completed, rather than a second-class "partnership" that was mooted by some EU incumbents.
"When you open the way to Turkey becoming a member of the European Union, that`s the start of the process," he said.
"The important thing is that we are stating as a fundamental principle that the fact that Turkey is a Muslim country does not mean it should be barred from the European Union," he said.
"On the contrary, if it fulfills the same principles of democracy and human rights, then Muslims and Christians can work together," he said.
"That is a very very important signal right across the world ... in light of events of recent years."
Blair attended the EU summit under the cloud of Wednesday`s resignation of his scandal-plagued home secretary David Blunkett, and he made no public comment on that domestic headache during his Brussels stay.
12/17/2004 16:27 GMT - AFP