Socialist aims for closer Turkish ties

       Greek opposition socialist leader George Papandreou said he would try to warm relations with Turkey if elected on Oct 4, but Ankara needed to respect EU rules to get a good December progress report from Brussels.
       Mr Papandreou, a former foreign minister whose Pasok party is leading opinion polls by a wide margin ahead of the vote, said hurdles had appeared in Greek-Turkish relations in recent years that could affect Turkey's chances for accession to the EU.
       "We want to revive this momentum which has been lost but at the same time evaluate the difficulties and the problems that have cropped up in bilateral relations," he said.
       Long at odds over territorial issues and the divided island of Cyprus, Greece and Turkey came close to war over a deserted islet in the Aegean Sea in 1996.
       Mr Papandreou was instrumental in rebuilding relations with Turkey as foreign minister in the late 1990s.
       Relations had since improved but a visit by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to Turkey in 2008 failed to produce the desired progress.
       Greece has repeatedly protested this year over Turkish fighter jets sorties over populated Greek islands.
       Mr Papandreou said Greece wanted to see genuine steps from Turkey on issues such as respecting borders, sovereignty and islands, as well as EU rules.
       "Otherwise, it's up in the air," he said, referring to Turkey's EU bid evaluation in December."They know I'm a friend,they know I worked very hard [on relations] but they also know that I'm here to protect our rights."
       He said improving relations between the two tense Nato allies would allow a reduction in military spending and greater cooperation in the region.
       Greece, which is running a huge debt and high budget deficits, spends about 3% of its GDP on defence.