ANKARA Turkey confirmed on Monday it would not attend a key meeting with European Union ministers as there had been no improvement in the bloc's stance over Ankara's exclusion from EU expansion plans. There is no change in our position. The meeting will not take place, a Foreign Ministry spokesman told Reuters. Turkish officials said last week the Turkey-EU Association Council foreign ministers' meeting should be postponed because the EU was not yet in a position to address all the sensitive issues.

The meeting, originally designed to review a customs union between Turkey and the EU, was planned for Monday evening in Brussels to try to patch up damaged ties between Ankara and the 15-nation bloc. EU officials said on Monday they were disappointed by the Turkish boycott of the meeting but said they would maintain their efforts to rebuild relations with Turkey. Relations between Ankara and the EU took a dive last December when the union put Turkey's membership bid on ice, citing concerns over the country's disputes with EU member Greece and its shaky rights record.

Turkey responded by cutting off political dialogue with the EU. State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel, responsible for coordinating relations with the EU, warned that no progress could be made unless the bloc changed its policy towards Turkey, Anatolian news agency said. If the EU changes its discriminatory attitude towards Turkey, we will then review our own stance, it quoted Gurel as saying.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said Ankara had hoped for some progress in overcoming a Greek veto on $415 million in funds due under the customs union as a gesture before the meeting. (Reuter)