The Transatlantic Trends study by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) found that only 38 percent of Turkish respondents in 2010 said they backed their country's integration with the EU, compared to 74 percent in 2004.

The number of Turks who said they favored closer cooperation between Ankara and Muslim countries in the Middle East has doubled from 10 percent in 2009 to 20 percent this year, said the survey.

At the same time 48 percent of European respondents opposed letting Turkey join the 27-nation club, compared to 38 percent in favor.

Turkey began accession negotiations with the EU in 2005, but the process has stalled amid opposition from some member states, lack of reform in Turkey and a trade row over the divided island of Cyprus.

EU heavyweights France and Germany, are notable opponents of Turkey's EU aspirations, arguing that the Muslim country of some 73 million people does not have a place in Europe.

The United States and several European countries have expressed concern that Turkey, the sole Muslim member of NATO, was sliding away from the West after the country objected to fresh sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program at a UN Security Council vote in June.

The vote coincided with a crisis in Turkey's ties with Israel over the May 31 raid on Gaza-bound aid ships, which killed nine Turks.

On Thursday, Turkey's prime minister told businessmen that his country wants to triple its trade volume with Iran within five years, on Thursday, at a time when sanctions are scaring off Western investors from the Islamic Republic.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi oversaw the meeting which brought together over a hundred businessmen, including Turkish investors eager to buy into Iran's mostly government-owned textile, machinery and automotive industries.

"Our bilateral trade ties have reached $10 billion ... When we take away the barriers to trade between ourselves, when we complete our preferential trade agreement we can reach a bilateral trade volume of $30 billion in five years," Erdogan told the businessmen from Turkey and Iran.

Numerous rounds of sanctions by the United Nations, the United States and the European Union have hit Iran, discouraging investment in its huge natural gas reserves as well as its banking sector. Turkey on the other hand has fostered diplomatic and business ties with Tehran. A trade agreement between the two countries is set to expand business ties even further.

Analysts say Turkey is seeking to capitalize on the diplomatic risks it has taken in backing Iran while the West piled on sanctions.

Iranian privatizations, seen starting by some Turkish businessmen as early as 2011, are also attracting interest. "This is a big opportunity for Turkey. Finance and trade that was carried out by Dubai and the United Arab Emirates before the sanctions can be taken over by Turkey," said Mehmet Koca, member of the executive board of the Turkey-Iran business group.