ANKARA, 27 August 2005 — Turkey does not expect EU foreign ministers to reach agreement on a negotiating mandate for its talks to join the European Union when they meet in Wales on Sept. 1-2, Turkish Economy Minister Ali Babacan said yesterday. But Babacan said Turkey was optimistic that it will start talks to join the European Union on schedule on Oct. 3 despite growing opposition within the bloc to Ankara’s membership bid.

“There is only a weak chance of getting a final decision (on the text) on Sept 1-2... (But) we want the negotiation framework document to be signed before Oct 3,” he said. Some EU member states, notably France, are wary about taking in the large, relatively poor, Muslim country, though Turkey is not expected to join the bloc before 2015 at the earliest.

Turkey-skeptics such as France and Austria want to toughen up the language of the negotiating mandate by stressing the “open-ended” nature of the talks and by possibly offering Turkey a final status that would fall short of full membership.

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin shocked Turks earlier this month by saying Ankara must recognize Cyprus, an EU member, before starting its accession talks.

Babacan repeated Ankara’s stance that it can only accept the internationally recognized Greek-Cypriot government after a comprehensive peace settlement on the ethnically divided island. The EU views the Greek-Cypriot government as the sole legal representative of Cyprus, but Turkey backs a rival Turkish-Cypriot administration in the north of the island.

Meanwhile, Turkish soldiers have killed three Kurdish guerrillas in a clash in a remote part of southeast Turkey overnight, a local official said. Backed by Sikorsky and Cobra helicopters, security forces launched an operation on Thursday evening after hearing reports of a large group of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels sheltering in a rural part of Batman province.

The firefight occurred despite the separatist PKK’s call to its armed wing a week ago to refrain from violence for a month. One PKK militant was also captured in the clash. Weapons and group documents were also seized. Security officials said the clash began when the rebels responded to a call to surrender by opening fire. “There was an intense clash between security forces and the PKK terror group,” local governor Haluk Imga said.