BRUSSELS, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Turkey's recognition of Cyprus may cause delays in Turkey's accession to the European Union, the BBC reported.
According to reports out of Nicosia, the capital, Cyprus plans to veto the start of accession talks if Turkey refuses to recognize it.
Turkey has been adamant about refusing to accept any new conditions for EU statehood, especially in recognizing Cyprus.
"We don't want to be faced with extra credit. ... The game has already begun, there should be no new rules," said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels on Friday.
A Cyprus EU representative warned that it "may be pushed down a path it does not want to take," the Cyprus Mail newspaper reported on Friday.
Turkey has stated that it will not recognize the country until a date has been set for accession talks.
The EU is expected to give Turkey the green light when it meets next week, after several rounds of negotiations over reforms that have already taken place. However, the condition to recognize Cyprus, which has been put forth by the EU, may end in a stalemate of accession talks, which are aimed to start in 2005.
