[Iran Press TV Latest] Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero conditions his country's full backing for Turkey's membership in the European Union bloc.
Zapatero, at a joint news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday in Istanbul said that his government would fight in Turkey's favor during Spain's 2010 EU Presidency, on condition it complied with the prerequisites set by the bloc.
"Spain's position is firm, clear and conclusive. And that is how it will remain. We understand that Turkey has to comply in the process, in the same way all the other candidate countries once had to comply. But it will have the doors open by complying with prerequisites demanded by the EU. So that eventually it can be incorporated into the peace and collaboration project, that is the EU," he said.
Erdogan for his part thanked Spain's support and said that US President Barack Obama's earlier backing at the Prague summit on Sunday was very important to his government: "It means a lot for us."
Turkish entry talks with the EU have been held up by European concerns over human rights, a perceived lack of progress on reforms, and by a long territorial dispute with EU member Cyprus.
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