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Emerging from consultations with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and other top leaders, Foreign Minister Gul confirmed that agreement with the EU
had finally been reached. Mr. Gul's brief comments came as he made his way to
the airport to fly to Luxembourg. Mr. Gul is expected to formally launch
accession negotiations with the EU after more than four decades of waiting at
Europe's door.
The deal almost fell through Monday as Austria kept up its opposition to full
membership for predominantly Muslim Turkey. Some 80 percent of Austrians are
against Turkey's inclusion in the European bloc. Its fears of the large and
predominantly Muslim nation of 70 million is shared by many Europeans.
The first signs of a breakthrough came when Austria, under heavy pressure
from Britain, dropped its demands for a privileged partnership, a
watered-down
form of membership for Turkey.
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