Turkish officials should get a better sense of their standing when they receive a major report, expected later this month, from the community's executive commission.

Turkish officials say they have not thought about the next step for the refugees.

Only later, Turkish officials said today, did they learn that it had been rejected.

"We gave them his address and phone number," said a Turkish official who sat in on the meetings.

It did so even before the two countries had worked out the final details of the agreement, a senior Turkish official said.

Turkish officials and foreign diplomats say they have no idea.

With time running out, a senior Turkish official said the government would present its final offer.

Turkish officials said the balance could easily shift as more results came in.

"We are telling them that this is a new age," the Turkish official said.

But Turkish officials have also said they no longer see the 1987 deal as binding.