Cicek:" Turkey says won't sacrifice Cyprus for EU membership"

Turkey won't sacrifice Turkish Cypriots' rights and interests for the European Union, an institution whose future is shrouded in doubt, said Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek on Saturday. At the workshop in Ankara on Turkish Cyprus, Cicek said that the Cyprus problem is bigger than party affiliation and has been a national cause for all governments in Turkey . "If you place Turkish Cyprus on one side of a scale and EU membership on the other, Turkey would choose Turkish Cyprus a million times," Cicek stressed, adding that the EU can't be a political force without Turkey. Cicek acknowledged the impasse in Ankara 's EU membership talks due to Cyprus , but said Turkey is ready to pay the price.