The United States has urged the European Union to hold membership talks with Turkey as soon as possible after Brussels failed to set a start date in a key report. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, has approved a report judging that 10 countries would be ready to join the Western club by 2004, but proposed no time frame for launching membership negotiations with Turkey. Turkey has already expressed its anger at the report, and late on Wednesday the US State Department weighed in, saying it saw Turkey as a vital ally in Europe. Turkey has a close military relationship with the US, hosting part of the US air force at the Incirlik air base, and its co-operation would be vital in any possible forthcoming US attack on Iraq. Greece has also said there is no reason why the European Union should not set a date to start accession talks with Turkey at its December summit.

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