Ministry: Turkish Newspaper Misinterpreted Aaviksoo's Words
The Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman took Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo’s statement out of context when it wrote that, according to him, it was unfair that Republic of Cyprus was accepted into the European Union, the ministry said.
"The defense minister said in the interview that Cyprus' membership in the EU put its Turkish residents in an unjust situation. Resolving this problem is equally important to both the EU and Turkey," the ministry told uudised.err.ee.
In 1974, after a government overturn by Greek Cypriots, the Turkish army invaded the island, effectively dividing the Republic of Cyprus in two.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declared its independence in 1983, a move recongized only by Turkey.
The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, which controls about 59 percent of the island, joined the EU on May 1, 2004.