Visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on Thursday urged the European Union (EU) to set an early date for starting EU accession talks, local media reported.

Gul made the remarks here after meeting with his Italian counterpart, Gianfranco Fini.

The EU Commission has recommended that the 25-nation block begin entry talks with Turkey soon, as it has met the EU's basic demands on standards on democracy, human rights and the rule of law. But the EU officials are expected to decide on Dec. 17 whether to give the predominantly Muslim country a date for the start of accession negotiations at a summit meeting.

"The European Commission must respect its commitments and the talks on Turkish entry should begin in the first half of 2005, without any conditions," Gul said.

Gul said he understood the ongoing debates over the prospect of Turkish membership in many EU countries but he remained convinced that Europe, with Turkey as a member, would have more advantages than disadvantages.

Italy supports Turkey's call for an early start of EU membership talks and will continue to do so at the coming summit, Gul said.

Source: Xinhua