The election of Nicholas Sarkozy winning 53 percent of the votes in the second round of the presidential elections did not come as a surprise to anyone in Ankara but the victory still caused deep disappointment and concern in the Turkish government.

Turkish diplomatic sources said they feared Turkey's bumpy relations would take a beating with Sarkozy as the French president.

He has repeated several times that he does not want to see Turkey in the EU and will do everything to bloc it. Turkish authorities fear that Sarkozy could halt the accession talks.

"Further enlargement of the European Union is impossible without preliminary reforms in its institutions. An endless enlargement means death of political Europe. If I am elected as president of France Turkey will not enter EU during my office. Turkey is located on Asia Minor and it says everything," Sarkozy told his rival Segolene Royal during a TV debate last week.

During the same debate Royal reserved the right to change her mind on the issue, depending on future events, Sarkozy said his position is "definitive."

Soon after his victory was announced Sarkozy said Turkey should be the leader of a union of Mediterranean countries that will deal with the EU…

Observers said this means Sarkozy may move to use French veto powers to halt the accession negotiations with Turkey.

Turkey aware of these dangers has reportedly approached Germany to convince the French not to stop Turkey's accession process. Turkish officials argued that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is also against Turkey's EU full membership but has not done anything to block it. So they feel Germany should use its good offices to convince Sarkozy not to take any radical moves on Turkey.

EU officials have also said they are dead against such a move especially at a time when Turkey is going through a political crisis and needs all the encouragement it can get to bolster its democracy.

What is also ironic is that Sarkozy is pro-American and is set to forge closer relations with Washington. President George W. Bush was the first to congratulate Sarkozy after his victory was announced.

Foreign policy analyst and commentator Cengiz Candar says Sarkozy's close relations with Bush could help Turkey to soften the French objections over the EU. The Americans want Turkey to join the EU and have often lobbied in favor of Ankara at times disturbing Germany and France.

Now the Bush administration could help in convincing Sarkozy to be more facilitating on Turkey. But Candar says this also means Turkey has to maintain closer ties with Washington.

Turkish diplomatic sources say their concerns about Sarkozy are not only limited to his negative attitude on Turkey's EU membership. They say his close relations with the Armenians in France who are highly anti-Turkish are also creating anxiety in Ankara.

They say Sarkozy's right-hand man Patric Devecian who is of Armenian origin is slated to be named into a top position in France if the conservatives win in the next parliamentary elections. There is even talk that he may become prime minister.

Devecian is regarded as the mastermind who convinced the French to legislate a law banning the denial of a so-called Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Turks in 1915. The law which has drew angry reactions form Turkey has been stalled in the French Senate but could be revived if Sarkozy decides to push for it.

Turkish sources say Turco-French ties are already at an all time low and may slide further down with Sarkozy. Turkey has banned French companies form participating in defense tenders.

The New Anatolian learnt that France had a security attaché at the embassy whose term in office ended and he went back home. Now the French have decided not to send a replacement signaling worsening ties.