Berlusconi asks Turkey to "neutralise fanatics"

ROME, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called on Turkey on Tuesday to "neutralise fanatics" following the killing of an Italian priest but said the murder should not be allowed to affect Ankara's bid for EU membership. Despite that reassurance, one of his ministers publicly disagreed, saying the killing, which shocked Italy, should make people reflect on whether Turkey should become part of Europe.

"The situation is quite worrying," Berlusconi said on a radio talk show, speaking of what he called a threat of violence linked to Islamic militants around the world.

Berlusconi said he was about to telephone Turkish Prime Minster Tayyip Erdogan and would tell him that his government "had to identify and neutralise these fanatics".

Turkish security forces detained a high school student on Tuesday in connection with the killing of Father Andrea Santoro, a 61-year-old Catholic priest shot dead on Sunday while praying in his church in Trabzon.

The Turkish government condemned the killing, which coincided with increased religious tensions worldwide following the publication of cartoons in some European newspapers satirising the Prophet Mohammad.

The detained student told police he was influenced by the cartoons, Turkey's NTV television reported.

A Vatican embassy spokesman in Ankara said the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar" (Arabic for "God is greatest") as he shot Santoro.

Berlusconi, who spoke before Santoro's body was returned home for a funeral on Friday, said the killing should not be allowed to taint Turkey's bid for European Union membership.

"Europe must not fall into the trap of terrorists," he said in answer to a question.

Turkey began EU membership talks last October, but is not expected to join the bloc before 2015 at the earliest.

Many in the EU are wary about admitting Turkey, a large, mainly Muslim and relatively poor country of 72 million people.

"I think we should help Turkey's entry into Europe because it is an example of how all Islamic countries should be," Berlusconi said, praising Ankara's secular government.

But a minister in his centre-right coalition disagreed.

"This very grave episode must make us reflect on Turkey's entry into Europe," said Agriculture Minister Gianni Alemanno, a member of the right-wing National Alliance party.

"We need serious guarantees and we expect precise answers from the Turkish government," he said.

Pope Benedict, who before his election in April expressed doubt about Turkey's credentials to join Europe, has said he hopes Santoro's killing can help bring people of different religious faiths closer together.

The Pope is due to visit Turkey in November.

The Vatican has joined Muslim countries, including Turkey, in condemning the cartoons of the Prophet, saying freedom of speech did not mean freedom to offend a person's religion.

Violent attacks on Christian clergy are virtually unheard of in Turkey, which views itself as a bridge between mainly Christian Europe and the predominantly Muslim Middle East.