Cyprus Foreign Minister George Iacovou says his European Union counterparts have agreed on a statement responding to Turkey's refusal to recognize the internationally backed Cypriot government.
Mr. Iacovou gave no details of the statement. But he told the Cyprus News Agency the ministers left it up to ambassadors of the 25 EU countries to work out the final text of the document.
Earlier, Turkey's Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned his country will abandon its EU membership bid if the bloc imposes new conditions on Ankara, or tries to offer anything less than full membership. Turkey has insisted that recognition of the Greek-led Cypriot government depends on a resolution of the three-decade division of Cyprus.
EU ministers have been pressing Turkey to normalize relations with all EU members, including Cyprus. Turkey is scheduled to start EU membership talks next month.
Some information for this story provided by AP and AFP.
