The European Union issued a report on Wednesday on Turkey's progress towards meeting membership criteria, but the explosive issue of Cyprus still proves a major obstacle in Ankara's bid to join the bloc.

Ending the division of the Mediterranean island, split since Turkish forces occupied the northern part in 1974 following a pro-Greece coup on the island, is not included in the so-called 'Copenhagen criteria' of reforms needed to join the EU. However, EU commissioner for enlargement Guenter Verheugen has warned that the continued presence of some 30,000 Turkish soldiers in the Turkish Cypriot breakaway republic of northern Cyprus could influence public opinion against Turkey's EU membership. "At the very least, Turkey must recognize the Republic of Cyprus before May 1st if it wants to talk to the EU as a whole," another senior European diplomat pointedly said.

EU leaders, who will formally decide in December 2004 if Turkey is ready for membership talks, have repeatedly insisted on the need for a speedy resolution of the Cyprus problem. The island is scheduled to enter the European Union in May 2004, but failure to reach a UN-sponsored political settlement before then will see only the Greek Cypriots benefit from EU accession, while the Turkish Cypriot north remains out in the cold.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently expressed hope that progress might be made on Cyprus after general elections which are to be held in the Turkish-held north on December 14.

Pro-EU opposition parties, who favor a reunification deal put forward by the UN, will attempt to topple the ruling coalition of supporters of President Rauf Denktash, whose hard-line nationalist policies have been blamed by the UN for the continuing deadlock.

In a recent interview with the Greek Eleftherotypia newspaper, the powerful commander of the Turkish armed forces, General Hilmi Ozkok, suggested that Turkish membership of the EU would allow both the Cyprus problem and bilateral differences between Greece and Turkey to be resolved "within a week."

His comments illustrate the army's belief that Cyprus can be used a bargaining chip to obtain the opening of membership talks with the EU.

EU representatives have repeatedly warned Turkey not to play such a game, but the government here appears unsure how to reconcile the country's traditional all-out support for its Turkish Cypriot cousins and its wish to end the 29-year-old political stalemate. ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has said that the EU was right to criticize Turkey for failing to fully implement democracy reforms, but rejected warnings that failing to resolve the Cyprus conflict could undermine the country's bid. Gul pledged that his government would rectify snags in the implementation of legal amendments, which have especially affected areas concerning cultural freedoms granted to the country's sizeable Kurdish minority. Turkey is the sole nation among the EU candidate states that has so far failed to formally start accession talks with Brussels.AFP