Miliband in Turkey for talks on EU bid

ANKARA, Turkey, May 27 (UPI) -- British Foreign Secretary David Miliband met with officials in Ankara to discuss Turkish accession to the European Union.

Miliband met Wednesday with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu as well as Egemen Bagis, the chief negotiator for Turkey's bid to join the EU, Today's Zaman reports.

Ankara has received modest support for its EU accession bid, though Olli Rehn, the EU commissioner for enlargement, said the accession process would be long.

Turkey faces modest opposition from European member states over its human-rights records and ongoing disputes regarding Cyprus.

Miliband arrived from Turkey after a stopover in Greece to meet with government officials to discuss bilateral cooperation in the foreign policy arena.

Miliband on his Web site says Greek foreign policy is frustrated by "a forward position on Turkish accession to the EU, and an important role in Cyprus talks."

The report from Today's Zaman says Miliband was urging Athens to reunify the island of Cyprus, which is split along Turkish and Greek lines.