NICOSIA -- Cyprus gave on Sunday its clearest ever warning that it will not consent to Turkey's entry into the European Union before a solution to the Cyprus problem is found.

"We not only do not accept Turkey joining the European Union, but will also block any further progress in its accession negotiations,"Cypriot Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou told a state-run television station.

Kyprianou was commenting on a statement by his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu that no one should ever try Ankara's patience or put it before the dilemma of having to choose between the breakaway north Cyprus and the European Union.

Turkey sent troops to Cyprus in 1974 in response to a coup inspired by Greek army officers, occupying the Mediterranean island's northern part, which was later unilaterally declared into a breakaway state recognized only by Ankara.

"We will not either permit Turkey to blackmail its entry into the European Union in exchange for a Cyprus solution," Kyprianou said when asked to comment on a statement by Ahmet Davutoglu that Ankara would like a solution to the Cyprus problem to be connected to its EU accession.

Kyprianou said that Turkey's accession negotiations are already in trouble and it should move to solve the Cyprus problem if it wants its EU process to continue.

"It is hypocritical on the part of Turkey to talk about international law when it blatantly violates it by occupying territory of a member of the European Union and the United Nations, "Kyprianou added.

Almost half of Turkey's negotiating chapters have been frozen, some of them for refusing to extend recognition to Cyprus Republic and allow use of its airspace and ports by Greek Cypriot planes and ships.

The European Commission criticized Turkey in its evaluation report last November for not moving forward on its relations with Cyprus.

Kyprianou also commented on an upcoming visit to Cyprus by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday, saying that Germany, having been a divided state itself, is in a position to better understand the need for the re-unification of the island.

"Her visit is a substantial one as far as the Cyprus problem is concerned,"Kyprianou said.

The Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities have been engaged in re-unification talks for almost 30 months but the negotiations were bogged down on the thorny issue of Greek Cypriot properties in the Turkish Cypriot north.

The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited the leaders of the two communities to meet him in Geneva on January 26, in a bid to break the impasse.

However, the three-way meeting may have to be rescheduled, due to the poor health of Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, who underwent heart surgery in Ankara in late December. Two negotiating sessions in the UN-controlled buffer zone have been scrapped and two more scheduled until the Geneva meeting are in doubt.