Turkey Claims Eu Bid Gets Pope's Blessing

Pope Benedict XVI today stepped into a political minefield when he appeared to back Turkey's bid to join the EU, after arriving in Ankara.

The Turkish prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, told a news conference after brief talks with the Pope that he had asked the pontiff to support Turkey's EU bid. Mr Erdogan quoted the Pope as saying: "We are not political, but we wish for Turkey to join the EU."

In reportedly voicing support for Turkey's bid for EU membership, the Pope has ensured a lively start to his four-day visit, his first to a Muslim country. Prior to becoming the leader of the Catholic church last year, he said Turkey should build ties with the Islamic world rather than the EU.

While the Pope's apparent U-turn will no doubt please his hosts, it is likely to spark irritation in European capitals such as Paris and Berlin that are less than enthusiastic about Turkish membership, currently the subject of difficult negotiations.

His remarks, albeit made privately to Mr Erdogan, made for a highly political start to what the Pope said was a pastoral, rather than a political, visit.

Later, after meeting Ali Bardakoglu, the Islamic cleric who oversees Turkey's religious affairs, the Pope sought to allay the anger he had sparked in earlier remarks about Islam.

"Christians and Muslims belong to the family of souls who believe in one God," he said at a joint appearance with Mr Bardakoglu.

For his part, Ali Bardakoglu said: "The so-called conviction that the sword is used to expand Islam in the world and growing Islamophobia hurts all Muslims," the cleric said.

In September, the Pope sparked a furore in the Muslim world when, during a lecture on faith and reason, he quoted a Byzantine emperor who described some of the prophet Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman".

The Pope later expressed regret at the pain his comments had caused, but stopped short of a full apology.

Before arriving in Ankara to a red-carpet welcome, complete with an honour guard, the Pope said the goal of his visit was dialogue and reconciliation between Christians and Muslims.

"The scope of this visit is dialogue, brotherhood, a commitment for understanding between cultures, between religions, for reconciliation," the pontiff said as he left Rome.

More than 20,000 Muslim protesters rallied against the Pope's trip on Sunday in Istanbul, chanting: "Pope, don't come". However, Mr Erdogan said he hoped the visit would promote worldwide peace.

"We hope that this visit will help advance the alliance of civilisations and global peace," he told members of his Islamic party in parliament.

Mr Erdogan also urged Turks to be courteous and show hospitality to the pontiff, warning against provocations by what he called marginal circles.

The Turkish authorities have imposed security for the Pope's trip even more stringent than that for the 2004 visit of the US president, George Bush.

Police set up positions along the road from the airport to Ankara, while snipers were placed on top of buildings and hilltops.

After spending the night in Ankara, Benedict will visit Ephesus and Istanbul, where he will meet Bartholomew I, the leader of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians.

Although the Pope insisted his visit was not political but pastoral, it is politically sensitive for Turkey's leaders, given the resentment among some Turks.

Mr Erdogan waited until the day before Benedict's arrival to announce that he would make time to see the Pope. Initially, the prime minister's office said he would be unable to greet the pontiff because of the Nato summit.

However, Mr Erdogan could not have hoped for a better start to the papal visit than having the Pope's endorsement of Turkey's EU membership.