Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan responded to criticism of German Chancellor Angela Merkel concerning Ankara’s stance on the Cyprus issue, Worldbulletin website reported.

“I guess Ms. Merkel has forgotten what she has said. It was herself who said that it was wrong to admit southern Cyprus into the European Union,” Erdogan said at a joint press conference in Doha following his meeting with Prime Minister of Qatar Hamad bin Jasim bin Jabir Al Thani.

He added that she makes such statements after visiting Greek Cyprus. Erdogan accused German Chancellor of not knowing about history of the Cyprus issue, stressing that Merkel probably thinks that the Cyprus issue was a process which began during her political power.

“If she had had the chance to talk to former leader of the main opposition party, she would have known those who were responsible for the Cyprus issue,” Turkish PM noted.

In the course of talks with President of Cyprus Dimitris Christofias, Angela Merkel criticized Turkey’s position on the Cyprus settlement and promised to put a lot of restrictions in the negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the EU.