Turkey signed an accord extending its customs union with the EU to Cyprus and other new EU members -- a key step toward opening membership talks with the bloc -- but said its signature was not recognition of the Cypriot government.
Britain, which holds the EU presidency, sought to downplay Ankara's non-recognition.
The agreement "is not about recognition [of Cyprus]. It is about signing a customs accord," said an anonymous British diplomat.
It was signed Friday by the British and Turkish envoys to the EU.
In a separate declaration, Turkey noted that the central obstacle to recognition -- the three-decade division of Cyprus into a Greek Cypriot controlled south and a Turkish occupied north -- did not exist when Turkey first signed its customs union with the EU some 40 years ago.
The statement said today's Cypriot government speaks only for the island's Greek Cypriot south, not the Turkish Cypriots who live in a republic established by Ankara and which no other country in the world recognizes.
For its part, Britain, speaking on behalf of all 25 EU nations, simply noted that Turkey reiterated "its long-standing policy on Cyprus," and it welcomed Ankara's commitment to continue to help in the search for end to the island's division. To begin those negotiations, which are expected to last many years, Turkey had to first extend its long-standing customs union with the EU to 10 countries -- including Cyprus -- that joined the bloc just over a year ago.
But its refusal to recognize the government in Nicosia has become a contentious issue in its bid to join the EU.
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