Greece to Back Turkey's Eu Bid

Greece pledged to support Turkey's quest to join the European Union after groundbreaking talks in Athens yesterday between the Greek prime minister, Costas Karamanlis, and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Erdogan.

Mr Karamanlis, whose New Democracy party won power in March, said he would actively back Ankara's EU aspirations, even if the two countries remained divided over Cyprus and territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea.

"I confirmed the support of the Greek government and me personally for Turkey's course towards Europe and Mr Erdogan's reform programme," said Mr Karamanlis after meeting his guest, the first Turkish leader to visit Greece for 16 years.

Greek diplomats said Athens would campaign for Turkey despite the opposition of several EU member states towards the predominantly Muslim state. Mr Erdogan's moderate Islamic government is keen to secure a start date for entry talks this December.

The European commission will decide whether to open negotiations with Ankara after producing a "progress report" on its reform programme - not least on human rights.

Greek officials believe that membership for Turkey, which has Nato's second-largest standing army, will enable Athens to reduce its defence spending, attract badly needed foreign investment and boost cross-border trade.

"Greece has realised, above all, that a European Turkey will be a less threatening Turkey," said James Ker-Lindsay, who runs a regional thinktank in the divided Cypriot capital, Nicosia.

"Erdogan's visit is seen as evidence that Athens and Ankara are determined to reduce the poisonous atmosphere that Cyprus has generated over the decades."

Greece and Turkey have come close to war over Cyprus twice since 1974 when an Athens-backed attempt to unite the island with Greece triggered a Turkish military invasion. The island joined the EU still divided a week ago after its majority Greek population voted down a UN reunification plan that would have ended its bitter partition.

Ankara - which bankrolls the isolated breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - supported the Turkish Cypriots who overwhelmingly voted for the power-sharing blueprint. The plan's collapse meant that only the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot south could join the EU, leaving the Turkish minority out in the cold and Turkey in the awkward position of having about 35,000 troops effectively occupying a corner of EU territory.

Relations between Greece and Turkey, two long-standing foes, have improved steadily under a policy of rapprochement cemented by the mutual outpouring of compassion and aid that followed devastating earthquakes in the two countries in 1999.

Mr Erdogan said it was time for the neighbours to look ahead to "new horizons". He continued: "We have to turn to the future and let the events of the past remain in the past.

"Peace and love is deep in the hearts of our two peoples."

But, on both sides, diplomats said potential trouble could be in store if the Greek Cypriots tried to thwart Turkey's accession by vetoing the start of EU membership talks in December. That, analysts believe, would really test the current spirit of goodwill blowing across the Aegean.