NICOSIA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission has warned Turkey that eight chapters of its negotiations to access the European Union will remain closed as a result of its policies towards Cyprus, according to a document made available in Nicosia on Tuesday.
European Commission's annual report on Turkey's progress towards EU membership also said that one chapter has been put on ice until the Commission ascertains that Turkey has fully applied the so called additional Ankara Protocol.
This binds Turkey to extend recognition to Cyprus and to allow Cypriot shipping to access Turkish ports and Cypriot planes to use its airspace as a precondition for further accession negotiations.
Turkey withdrew its recognition of Cyprus after Turkish troops occupied the northern part of the eastern Mediterranean island in 1974, in reaction to a coup by the rulers of Greece, and set up a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state which is recognized only by Ankara.
The European Commission report urged Turkey to avoid violence or to make threats for the use of violence against an EU member state.
Turkey deployed units of its navy southeast of Cyprus in February and prevented a drill ship to start exploration for natural gas on behalf of Italian state controlled company ENI, at a spot within the Cypriot exclusive economic zone.
Despite its refusal to accept EU terms for the continuation of its accession negotiations, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last month that his country remained committed to its EU course.
