BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The acceleration of the negotiations on Turkey's accession to the European Union is opposed by all the bloc's member states, a diplomatic source in Brussels said Thursday.
"In fact, no one wants to accelerate the process of Turkey's accession to the European Union, but the main obstacle is Cyprus since Nicosia will continue to veto Ankara's accession as long as Ankara does not recognize Cyprus," the source told RIA Novosti.
The 28-member bloc and Turkey reached a preliminary deal at a March 7 summit, under which Ankara pledged to stem the flow of Syrian refugees to the European Union in exchange for $3.3 billion and the fast-tracking of Turkey's EU membership bid.
Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa, the majority of whom enter Europe by crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey.
