Romano Prodi has become the first European Commission President to visit Turkey since 1963. But Ankara has every reason to feel the trip was well worth waiting for. That is because the VIP guest has given Turkey a firm thumbs-up for its flurry of human rights reforms - indicating that they have brought the candidate country closer to the EU. That is music to the ears of a nation that hopes to open long-delayed negotiations on joining the wealthy bloc in early 2005. But one issue could still wreck its European Union ambitions: the ongoing division of Cyprus. The island has been split on ethnic lines since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded the north in response to a Greek Cypriot coup. Thirty years on, Turkey still backs the northern Cypriot enclave with cash and thousands of troops. But only the Greek south is internationally recognised and it is poised to enter the EU on May 1. Amid the pomp and ceremony of his welcome, Romano Prodi has urged Ankara to push Turkish Cypriots into resuming talks on a UN peace plan in the hope of reunifying Cyprus before it climbs on board. Settlement of the problem would, he said, greatly help Turkey's own EU aspirations. **PHOTO CAPTION*** European Commission President Romano Prodi (R) is hugged by Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan upon his arrival in Ankara January 15, 2004. (REUTERS/str)