US, France disagree on Turkey's EU bid

08/06/2009

PARIS, France -- US President Barack Obama supported Turkey's EU accession process after talks with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, on Saturday (June 6th), media reported. "I have said publicly that I think Turkish EU membership is crucial," Obama told a joint press conference with Sarkozy, before attending commemorations marking the 65th anniversary of D-Day in northern France.

"I agree that Turkey plays the role of a bridge between the East and West. Yet we differ on what kind of a bridge Turkey could be," Sarkozy said, insisting France will continue opposing Turkey's EU membership. Turkey began EU membership talks in October 2005, but has so far opened only ten of the 35 negotiation chapters. (Hurriyet, Radikal, Yeni Safak, Milliyet, Vatan - 07/06/09; AP, AFP, Anadolu news agency - 06/06/09)

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