ANKARA, June 26: Turkey will not tolerate any changes to the conditions attached to its bid to become a full member of the European Union and expects the bloc to honour its commitment to launch accession talks, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

“Turkey is not in a position to renegotiate anything. That would amount to self-denial by the EU,” Erdogan said in the northern city of Rize in comments broadcast by the NTV news channel on Sunday.

“The (EU) process will continue as it has until today. It is not possible for us to approve a different development,” he said.

The Turkish leader underlined that it expected the bloc to keep its word to Turkey, underlining that his country would not agree to any new conditions for membership.

“If you impose new conditions on candidate countries, especially a country which is about to start negotiations, that would not be right...We are used to and expect honest politics,” he charged.

Last December, the European Union set October 3, 2005 as the date to launch accession negotiations with Turkey with full membership as the ultimate target, but on a number of tough conditions.

Turkey’s hopes have since been overshadowed by the rejection of the EU’s first constitution in separate referendums in France and the Netherlands, with the votes being swayed partly by concerns on whether to allow a mainly Muslim, albeit strictly secular, country into the bloc.

The union was thrown into further turmoil after last week’s EU summit broke down amid a disagreement on a long-term budget that would provide funding for newcomers, raising questions about the bloc’s enlargement.

Last week, European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso stood firm on the EU’s commitments to open talks with Turkey but also said it needed to “discuss seriously” public concerns about the country’s possible membership.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair on the other hand told the European Parliament that EU expansion was an “historic opportunity” and vowed to fulfil enlargement pledges.

Welcoming Blair’s remarks, Erdogan warned that the EU would risk isolating itself if it did not open its doors to Turkey.

“We are at this point because we see the European Union as a union of political values. If Turkey does not join the union, it will risk remaining a Christian club,” he charged.—AFP