Turkey appeared to have averted the threat of a partial freeze on Eureopen Union membership negotiations when it made a last-minute concession  regarding its recognition of Cyprus this week. The Turkish government in Ankara offered to open one seaport and one airport to Greek Cypriot trade, an offer that Finland's Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, who received the Turkish offer on behalf of the EU, characterized as an "opening from the Turkish side" and "a positive indication," according to the Associated Press.

But Tuomioja also said that the Turkish offer is "not a solution," and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters that Turkey "has to adhere completely" to EU demands for opening "all ports to all EU members," including Cyprus.

The Turkish offer has caught the 25 EU member states off guard as they prepare to meet next week. Punishing Turkey for its stubborn stance on the issue of Cyprus was to be one of the issues on the agenda for that meeting.

Center-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"Turkey poses Europe a riddle. This is not the first time it's doing so, but Ankara's recent tactical manoeuvres make no sense politically. First Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan grandly rejects an EU offer for ending the dispute over Cyprus -- an offer negotiated for weeks -- thereby winning the applause of his countrymen. But now Erdogan signals that some of what he declared out of the question only a few days ago may be possible after all. That can only make the EU suspect that Turkey isn't interested in a serious settlement of the dispute at all, but is rather trying to prevent Brussels from freezing certain parts of the membership negotiations by making empty concessions."

The business daily Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"The fact that an apparently accommodating gesture by Turkey immediately provokes positive reactions from a number of European capitals shows one thing above all: Turkey has succeeded in widening the divisions between the EU partners by making its nebulous offer -- and it has done so just in time, shortly before the EU leader summit scheduled for the beginning of next week, where the possibility of partially freezing membership negotiations will be on the agenda.

"Europe would forfeit all respect from Ankara if the EU member states were to be unable to agree on the approach to Turkey suggested by the European Commission, now that Ankara has made its bizarre offer. After all, freezing negotiations over issues related to the free flow of goods and services makes logical sense, given the fact that Turkey has broken its promise to ratify its customs union with Cyprus by the end of the year. So no matter whether Turkey opens up a sea port or an airport –- whatever lies behind the promise, it's ultimately no more than a clever strategic move."

Another business daily, Handelsblatt, writes:

"(Turkish) Prime Minister Erdogan once warned (German) Chancellor Merkel against making a 'historical mistake.' He seems to have remembered his own words. Because it would certainly have been a historical mistake on the part of Turkey if Ankara had continued to resist all compromise.

"To solve this conundrum, it would be necessary to separate the question of EU membership from the Cyprus issue. That's what Ankara's strategy is meant to achieve. One prerequisite would be making the stubborn Cypriot government in Nicosia behave more reasonably. In that case, the EU could even lay the basis for a lasting solution to the conflict. But such a solution could only be achieved under the oversight of the United Nations."