Turkey put on a brave face Monday at the possibility of losing a staunch supporter of its bid to join the European Union after German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder suffered a crushing defeat in a key state vote and braced for early elections.

Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said a victory for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), an opponent of Turkey's EU membership, in the early elections would not have an impact on his country's aspirations to join the bloc.

"Hopefully, we will start the (accession) negotiations on October 3," Gul told reporters at Ankara airport before flying to Sweden for a NATO gathering.

"Any change in this is out of the question as long as we fulfill our obligations and we are fulfilling them meticulously," he said.

The government's spokesman, Justice Minister Cemil Cicek, conceded that "the coming to power of this or that party can sometimes have an impact on such issues," but stressed that Turkey should concentrate on the reforms required to join the European bloc.

"As long as we elevate our democratic standards and improve our economic development, some obstacles that we are facing today will disappear by themselves," Cicek said after a cabinet meeting.

Schroeder said he would call an early general election later this year after his Social Democratic Party (SPD) lost a vote in Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphaliaa to the conservative CDU on Sunday.

The Christian Democrats argue that Turkey is not fit for full EU membership and advocate instead a special status, widely referred to as priviliged partnership, for the sizeable and relatively poor Muslim nation.

Many here are already worried that a possible "no" at a May 29 referendum on the European constitution in France, whose public opinion is overwhelmingly against Turkey's EU bid, might cloud the planned opening of accession talks between Ankara and Brussels on October 3.

Financial analysts here said the possibility of Schroeder losing the early elections contributed to a 4.5-percent fall in the benchmark index of the Istanbul stock exchange on Monday because investors feared that Turkey would lose a powerful advocate of its drive to join the EU.