The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, yesterday urged Turkey to attend a key meeting with the EU next week despite Ankara's anger at being left out of Europe's eastward expansion.
"We are ready on our side for the association council on Monday. I hope the government of Turkey will also be ready," Mr Cook told a news conference in Ankara, shortly after his arrival in the Turkish capital.
Mr Cook, whose country holds the EU presidency until July, was expected to meet the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr Ismail Cem, and the Prime Minister, Mr Mesut Yilmaz.
The EU froze Turkey's application in December, citing its human rights record and disputes with Greece. Turkey responded by cutting off political dialogue with the Union.
A further issue souring relations is the 375 million ECU (£293 million) in funding which was earmarked for Turkey under a 1996 customs union deal with the EU but vetoed by Greece. Last month, Turkey called on the EU to convince Greece to drop its veto on the funding.
AFP reports from Nicosia:
Cypriot government troops have arrested a Turkish soldier who entered the southern part of the divided island.
Mr Yassin Botzali, whose country has occupied the northern third of the island since 1974, was arrested late on Monday on the road to the southern coastal city of Larnaca.
Turkey has about 35,000 troops stationed in the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", which Turkish Cypriot leaders proclaimed in 1983 but is recognised only by Ankara.