BRUSSELS, Jan 19: Turkey threatened on Monday to review its position on a strategic new gas pipeline for Europe that would bypass Russia if its EU accession talks were blocked.

The warning by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan comes amid Europe’s worst gas crisis caused by a dispute between Russia and Ukraine that has led to gas shortages across the continent.

The crisis has sharpened attention on the need to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas, with the proposed Nabucco pipeline that would carry supplies from the Caspian Sea or Middle East via Turkey to Austria seen as critical.

“If we’re faced with a situation where the energy chapter is blocked then we could review our position” on Nabucco, Mr Erdogan said during a conference in Brussels.

Turkey’s bid to join the European Union requires 35 chapters covering key areas of governance to be opened and agreed, with energy currently closed because of objections by Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004.

“The other side ought to be fair in his treatment,” said Erdogan. “They should not prefer southern Cyprus, located far away from Europe and with only a few hundred thousand people, compared with Turkey with 70 million people.”

He added: “We have to talk about the facts openly. Southern Cyprus is putting pressure so that some chapters are not opened, like energy.”

Turkey refuses to endorse the internationally-recognised Greek Cypriot government and instead recognises the breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet in the north of the island.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey seized its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered Greek Cypriot coup aimed at uniting the Mediterranean island with Greece.

Erdogan said he hoped to see “a leap” in Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union in 2009.

Some EU nations firmly oppose the idea of Turkey, a mainly Muslim country of 70 million, joining the bloc amid misgivings among voters. France favours a special relationship that stops short of full membership for Turkey.

Erdogan criticised negative comments about his country in the EU that meant public support for joining the EU was waning.

“Our people are reacting to some negative declarations from the EU side which question Turkey’s accession to the EU. But we’re very decisive, it’s a top priority issue,” Erdogan said.

“We don’t ask for special treatment, but a fair and equal treatment. We are not here to be a burden for the EU.We want to share the burden,” he added.Nabucco is a proposed 3,400-kilometre pipeline between Turkey and Austria that would transport up to 31 billion cubic metres of gas every year.—AFP