Turk PM returns to hero's welcome after EU summit

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan returned home to a hero's welcome yesterday after sealing a historic accord to open European Union entry talks next year and vowed no letup in the pace of democratic reforms.

The 25 EU leaders agreed on Friday at a summit in Brussels to begin accession talks with the large Muslim country on October 3, 2005, after overcoming a dispute concerning EU member Cyprus.

Addressing thousands of cheering well-wishers in central Ankara from an open-topped double-decker bus, Erdogan said: "Others might be spoiled by such a victory, but we are aware of our responsibility to make much more progress."

"Turkey will become different in every way," he said, alluding to the huge economic, administrative and legal changes the EU will demand during the negotiations, which are expected to last as much as a decade.

Supporters waved Turkish and EU flags, danced to Turkish music and let off fireworks.

Erdogan struck a similarly businesslike tone when he arrived back in Turkey in the early hours of yesterday.

Erdogan has made EU entry talks his top political priority since his Justice and Development Party (AKP), a conservative grouping with Islamist roots, swept to power two years ago.

Turkish newspapers have almost unanimously hailed the outcome of Friday's summit as a victory for both the country and for Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party, although some have also questioned the deal on Cyprus.

Erdogan pledged to sign a protocol extending Turkey's EU association agreement to 10 states which joined the bloc in May, including Cyprus, after winning assurances that this would not mean diplomatic recognition of the Greek Cypriot government.

Turkey only recognises the breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet in the north of the island, where it keeps around 35,000 troops stationed.

The EU regards the Greek Cypriot administration in the south as the sole legal representative of all Cyprus.

Both Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul reiterated yesterday that Turkey would not alter its basic stance on Cyprus until there was a comprehensive peace settlement on the island.

Diplomats say they expect a fresh drive to revive Cyprus peace talks in coming months. The Mediterranean island has been split on ethnic lines since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded the north after a Greek Cypriot coup backed by ancient rival Greece.