Baku, Azerbaijan, June 25
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The EU puts political obstacles in the way of Ankara joining this organization, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bashir Atalay said on June 25, Milliyet newspaper reported.
"One of these political obstacles is Northern Cyprus," he said. "This issue was discussed at almost all meetings with EU representatives."
Atalay also said that Ankara continues implementing reforms in all spheres of the country.
Cyprus de facto has been split since 1974 after Turkey's military invasion. The invasion or "intervention" as the Turks call it was in response to the coup in Cyprus and fear of potential massacre of Turks on the island given the recent history between the two communities.
In February 2014, Cyprus's reunification negotiations resumed after a two-year break
The official negotiations on Turkey's accession to the EU started in 2005.
Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the EU continues to mislead Turkey [on the accession issue] and this upsets the country.
Turkey's accession to the European Union has lost its attraction for the citizens of the country, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said earlier.
Previously 75 percent of the country's population supported Turkey's accession to the EU, but now only 20 percent show interest in this issue.
Turkey has fulfilled 65 percent of its commitments to the EU for accession to this organization.