Turkey attacks EU over human rights 'double standards'

Turkey accused European leaders of "double standards" yesterday as tempers frayed over Ankara's demand for a date for EU membership talks and efforts intensified to clinch broad agreement on Cyprus.

With a crucial EU summit due on Thursday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who leads Turkey's governing party, began a round of frantic last-minute diplomacy with the EU's Danish presidency in Copenhagen. Mr Erdogan was then due to fly to Washington for talks with President George Bush, who has been lobbying hard for the EU to start talks with Turkey. The Danish premier, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is due to fly to Ankara today.

At Thursday's summit in Copenhagen, diplomats hope to reach a deal which will resolve the 28-year-old division of Cyprus and give Turkey a path towards membership. Turkish support for a UN peace plan for Cyprus is central to the talks.

The EU has so far refused to start membership talks with Turkey until the government meets minimum requirements on human rights and democracy. But Mr Erdogan argued that tougher standards were being applied to Ankara than to other nations vying to join the EU. Although Turkey has passed laws banning the death penalty and granting more rights to its Kurdish minority, the EU has noted shortcomings in human rights, including restrictions on freedom of expression, the torture of prisoners and insufficient civilian control over its military.

Yesterday Mr Erdogan pointed to Latvia – one of 10 nations due to be invited to join the EU this week – which still does not give its minority Russian population full rights. He said: "There are one million Russians in Latvia. They are treated as a people without a nationality. The European Union should leave aside the double standards."

His aggressive stance received an equally robust response from Mr Rasmussen, who argued: "What we need to see now are real changes, we need reforms, not only on paper but also in real life."

Pressure from Ankara on the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, would transform its standing. One senior EU diplomat described the prospects of a breakthrough as "the best chance we have had in years".

Denmark hopes to win an agreement this week from the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders to negotiate a deal based on a UN proposal allowing Cyprus to accede to the EU as a united island in 2004. The prize for the Turks would be a starting date for talks on membership, which would be an enormous step. Once nations begin such negotiations, history shows that they are eventually invited to accede.

Last week France and Germany called for a review of Turkey's progress on human rights in 2004, with the start of negotiations pencilled in for July 2005. Britain, Italy and Greece favour starting formal talks before the 10 member states join the EU in May 2004.

Yesterday Cyprus became the first candidate country to complete membership talks with the EU, while other applicants signalled they still hoped to squeeze more financial concessions. The EU has promised to admit the Greek-controlled part of Cyprus if there is no agreement on the island.