Gul blames EU for deadlock in Cyprus

The European Union strongly encourages the absence of a settlement on the divided island of Cyprus, the Turkish president said Saturday. President Abdullah Gul blamed the EU for contradicting its own principles by including Greek Cyprus as a member before the divided island solved its problems when he was speaking to the Turkish Parliament on the occasion of the new legislative year. "Obviously this puts the European Union in a position where it ends up strongly encouraging the absence of a settlement," said Gul and added: "It is the Greek Cypriot administration that lacks the will to reach a settlement in the Cyprus problem and many members of the EU hide under the skin of the Greek Cypriot administration as an excuse."