Ankara, Turkey - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Pope Benedict, speaking at the start of a four-day visit to Turkey, had told him he supported Ankara's bid to join the European Union.
Erdogan, who long delayed saying whether he would even meet the German-born Pontiff, greeted Benedict warmly as he stepped off his plane and had a short conversation with him about dialogue between religions and cultures.
Benedict, who before his 2005 election as Pope had opposed Turkey's EU ambitions, made his comment at those talks, Erdogan told journalists before leaving for the Riga NATO summit.
"He said we are not political but we wish for Turkey to join the EU," Erdogan said.
The prime minister, whose career began in Islamic politics, added: "The most important message the Pope gave was towards Islam, he reiterated his view of Islam as peaceful and affectionate."
Vatican officials were not immediately available to talk about the Pope's comments.
Benedict travelled to Turkey with two strikes against him, his well-known opposition to Turkish EU membership and his September speech that many Muslims said insulted Islam. He has said the speech was misunderstood but has not apologised for it.
Security was heavy for Benedict's first visit to the Muslim world, with sharpshooters on the roof of the arrivals building and troops guarding the airport. About 3,000 police have been posted in the Turkish capital to prevent any protests.
More than 100 Islamist nationalists protested against the visit in central Ankara while 50 civil servants held a peaceful protest at the Religious Affairs Directorate, where the Pope was to meet Turkey's top religious official.
Most Turks are Muslims but the state is officially secular.
CONCILIATORY COMMENTS
"The scope of this visit is dialogue, brotherhood, a commitment to understanding between cultures, between religions, for reconciliation," the Pope, 79, told reporters on board his aircraft before leaving Rome for Turkey.
Erdogan told the Pope as they sat down for their short talk: "We are pleased to see you. Your visit comes at a time of increased importance of dialogue between civilisations."
The visit by the leader of 1.1 billion Roman Catholics was originally intended to be a pre-eminently Christian event but it has taken on wider political ramifications in Western-Islamic relations, Catholic-Muslim relations and Turkey's own desire to be part of Europe.
More than 20,000 Muslim protesters rallied against the Pope's trip on Sunday in Istanbul, chanting "Pope don't come", but Benedict said he was expecting a warm reception.
The Pope said his trip was aimed at improving relations both with Muslims and with Orthodox Christians.
"Dialogue in many dimensions: between cultures, between Christianity and Islam, dialogue with our Christian brothers, and above all the Orthodox Church of Constantinople and certainly a better understanding between us all."
In a conciliatory gesture towards his Muslim hosts, Benedict will visit Istanbul's famed Blue Mosque.
Most Turks seem indifferent to the Pope's visit, but security will be very tight and protests are expected by a small but vociferous minority of Islamists and hardline nationalists.
After talks with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and with Turkey's top Muslim official, the Pope will visit Ephesus where the Virgin Mary is reputed to have lived and died.
The main focus of his four-day trip will be talks on Christian unity with Patriarch Bartholomew, the Istanbul-based spiritual head of the world's 250 million Orthodox Christians.