Ecevit appears ready for nationalist coalition

ANKARA [MENL] -- Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit on Tuesday launched efforts to form a coalition with a nationalist party that could affect the country's foreign policy toward Europe and Cyprus.

Ecevit's Democratic Left Party and the Nationalist Movement Party appeared to be the major partners in Turkey's next government. The Nationalist Movement won 18 percent of the vote and rules out reuniting of the divided island of Cyprus into Turkish and Greek enclaves.

Some analysts said the participation of the nationalist party could also hurt Turkey's relations with the European Union.

In third place, the Islamic Virtue Party received 15.7 percent of the vote, falling short of predictions that it would place second in the race. The party is the successor of the Welfare Party, which won power only to be ousted from the office by the military in 1997.