The Turkish Prime Minister, Mr Mesut Yilmaz, has compared the German approach to EU expansion with Hitler's Lebensraum drive for German settlement of eastern Europe, the Financial Times reported yesterday. Mr Yilmaz, in comments that highlighted Turkish bitterness over its exclusion from a list of countries earmarked for entry to the EU, accused the EU of discriminating against Ankara. He blamed the German government in particular for Turkey's omission.
"The Germans continue the same strategy as before. They believe in Lebensraum," Mr Yilmaz said, according to the report.
"That means the central and eastern European countries are of strategic importance for Europe and for Germany as their backyard," he said.
Germany denied the accusation and while it would not be drawn on what impact such a statement might have on German-Turkish relations, its anger was evident.
"If these statements are true then it is an inexcusable defamation of German policies," said the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mr Martin Erdmann.
The government spokesman, Mr Peter Hausmann, said that Mr Yilmaz's statements were in contrast to decades of "friendly relations" between Bonn and Ankara.
"We formally reject these statements," he said. The Financial Times had predicted that Mr Yilmaz's charges would provoke fury in Bonn because of the connotations of the word Lebensraum - Hitler's policy of aggressive expansion eastwards to create "living space" for the German people.
"Their final goal is to include these countries in NATO and the EU, and to divide Europe between Bulgaria and Turkey," Mr Yilmaz said. "Turkey should be a good neighbour for Europe, but not a member of the EU."
The newspaper said the interview revealed the depth of Turkey's bitterness and disillusion at the EU decision in Luxembourg last December to leave Turkey off the enlargement list.
"The EU has committed a very grave mistake," Mr Yilmaz told the Financial Times. "It is impossible to bring the Turkish Cypriots to the membership negotiations unless there is a major change in EU policy.
"Nobody should expect any improvements unless the EU recognises the existence of two separate, distinct entities on Cyprus."
Mr Yilmaz also rejected last-minute efforts to persuade him to attend next week's European Conference of prospective members of the EU in London, the Financial Times said.
"That is out of the question," he said. "If we attend the European Conference, it would mean accepting the discrimination against us," Mr Yilmaz said.
The newspaper said Britain, as current president of the EU, has been trying to persuade Turkey to attend the conference, which will be attended by all the EU members plus 11 candidates including Cyprus.