PARIS, August 27, SPA -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday that France would not oppose new negotiations betweenTurkey and the European Union, but remained resistant tofull Turkish membership. Sarkozy said such negotiations should include discussionof membership or a weaker alliance between Turkey and theEU, and said they should only take place after an EU-wide«reflection» on the future of the 27-member union. «If this essential reflection on the future is launchedby the 27, France will not oppose new negotiations betweenTurkey and the European Union in the coming months andyears,» Sarkozy said at an annual conference of Frenchambassadors where he laid out his plans for French foreignpolicy. He added that the next «chapters» of negotiation shouldbe «compatible with the two possible visions of the futureof their relationship: either joining (as a member) or anyassociation as tight as possible without attainingmembership,» Sarkozy said in a speech opening an annualconference of French ambassadors. Sarkozy, who in the past vowed to halt Turkey's membershipbid, reiterated Monday his preference for a weaker kind ofpartnership. His stance on the issue runs against that of a majority ofEU leaders, who back entry negotiations with Ankara, the Associated Press reported.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/477816