British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he is angered by the slow pace of Turkey's EU accession talks.
Speaking on his first visit to Turkey since taking office, Mr Cameron warned against shutting Ankara out because of anti-Muslim prejudice.
He pledged to remain Turkey's 'strongest possible advocate for EU membership' and urged Ankara to 'push forward aggressively' with EU-minded reforms.
The Prime Minister's strong support for Turkey's EU bid puts him in stark contrast to fellow EU heavyweights France and Germany.
They argue against letting the mainly-Muslim country of over 70m to become a full member.
'When I think about what Turkey has done to defend Europe as a NATO ally and what Turkey is doing now in Afghanistan alongside European allies, it makes me angry that your progress towards EU membership can be frustrated in the way it has been,' Mr Cameron said in his speech to Turkish businessmen in Ankara.
'I believe it's just wrong to say Turkey can guard the camp but not be allowed to sit inside the tent,' added Mr Cameron.
The British leader also turned on those who oppose Turkey's EU bid on the grounds of its Muslim majority population and saw 'the history of the world through the prism of a clash of civilizations'.
Mr Cameron also urged Ankara to work to repair its ties with Israel and to persuade Iran to halt its uranium enrichment work, which the international community suspects masks a covert weapons programme.
Accession talks
The EU opened accession talks with Turkey in 2005, but it has so far opened talks in only 13 of the 35 policy areas, called chapters, that a candidate country has to successfully negotiate prior to membership.
Eight chapters remain frozen as a sanction for Turkey's refusal to open its sea and air ports to Cyprus, an EU member that Ankara does not recognise owing to the island's 36-year division between its Greek and Turkish communities.
French President Nicola Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have added to the gloom, arguing Turkey should be offered a 'privileged partnership' rather than full membership, a proposal that Ankara categorically rejects.
