Turkey threatens EU with freeze in relations

Negotiations on Turkey joining the EU as a full member have hit a dead-end, the foreign ministry of Turkey stated, RIA Novosti reports.

Turkey is dissatisfied with the fact that the country changes its laws to make them coincide with the EU standards, but in reality has seen no progress in is EU bid.

Talks started in October 2005. Some leaders of European countries, including Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkozy, are against Turkish membership in the EU.

Ankara states that EU membership is its strategic target. If the negotiations remain deadlocked, Turkey might freeze diplomatic relations with the EU, as in 1997.

One of the main issues of disputes is the problem of Cyprus. Turkey doesn't recognize the independence of the Republic of Cyprus and has relations only with the unrecognised Turkish Republic of North Cyprus.