Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.12 / Trend , E. Ostapenko /
Turkey will continue diplomatic game despite irritation by demands of the European Parliament, Igor Torbakov, well-known Finnish expert on Turkish politics, said.
"What we observe is part of a complicated diplomatic game. It seems the European Parliament's report and Turkey's irritation does not mean that Turkey will eventually refuse their membership plans," Torbakov told Trend over the phone from Helsinki.
The European Parliament demands from Turkey immediately to begin withdrawing troops from northern Cyprus and to take concrete measures in order to ensure the successful completion of negotiations on the Cyprus issue settlement.
Turkish prime minister called the report "biased and untrue."
Cyprus can become a stumbling block between Turkey and the EU, Torbakov said.
According to him, the administration of southern Cyprus now has no incentive and interest to solve this problem, as they are already in the EU. On the other hand, Brussels has no leverage to exert pressure on Cyprus.
"Therefore, Turkey is the only country which can be pressured, because Turkey has a huge interest in joining the EU," Torbakov said.
The island state has been divided in1974. Now negotiations to reunify it are underway. The refusal to open the border with the Greek part of Cyprus is one of the main causes of the impasse. Other reasons also include problems in the sphere of human rights.
If Turkey joins the EU it can bring a mutual economic benefit. Ankara will significantly expand the EU's internal market and will provide European companies suffering from rapid aging of native population with workers. The fact that Turks have no skills problem, education and understanding of the Europe's society traditions can serve as an additional benefit.