Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, meeting with his French counterpart in Ankara, asked the French people not to obstruct Turkey's European Union bid, saying «Turkey will be a very different country when the time comes for it to join.» Turkey opened official negotiations for EU membership on October 3, but faces heavy opposition to its membership bid across Europe, including in EU heavyweight France, AP reported. «Turkey will be a very different country when the time comes for it to join. It should be left to the French people when the time comes, but don't cause obstacles now,» Gul said in a joint press conference with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy. Douste-Blazy in turn asked that Turkey speed up reforms to win over a wary French public. «Turkey has to act faster on issues which the French public opinion is sensitive to,» he said.
