Leaks suggest US feared Sarkozy could halt Turkey's EU bid

Right after his election in 2007, US officials worked behind closed doors to convince French President Nicolas Sarkozy not to bring Turkey's European Union accession process to a halt, according to confidential US diplomatic cables released this week by online muckraker WikiLeaks. A document from the US Embassy in Paris dated May 10, 2007 lists Turkey's EU process as one of the five key US foreign policy concerns in relations with France in the aftermath of Sarkozy's election the day before. Another US Embassy cable from Paris, prepared ahead of a June 2007 meeting between Sarkozy and US President George W. Bush, confirms the US conviction that changing Sarkozy's mind on Turkey is impossible. In 2010, France became skeptical of Turkey's growing diplomatic activism, and French officials reportedly told US counterparts at a January meeting in Washington that "it would be difficult for France to see any opening on EU membership for Turkey in the near future."