Tatar attends meeting with Çavuşoğlu at Türkevi
Date Added: 24 September 2021

President Ersin Tatar on Thursday met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and representatives of the Turkish Community as part of his contacts in New York.

Speaking at the meeting held at the Türkevi (Turkish House), President Ersin Tatar expressed how proud he was to be present at the opening of the Turkish House.

Touching upon the reactions shown to the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of America Elpidoforos for attending the opening of the Türkevi, Tatar said, “Things got heated on the Greek Cypriot side following that group photo. He was bombarded for being in the same picture with the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This is the same mentality which led to the tearing out of a page from an English textbook because of a section on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.”

President Tatar said that the Turkish Cypriot people trusted no other than Turkey and that the Turkish nation was growing stronger by the day.

Pointing out that the Cyprus Issue was a national cause, the president said, “Turkey has always been by the side of the Turkish Cypriot people and will continue to do so. Why?  Because their security is based on Turkey’s presence in Cyprus.”

Also speaking, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu thanked President Ersin Tatar for attending the meeting.

He said that Turkey will continue to defend the national cause to the very end.

Reminding that a federal settlement had been negotiated in Cyprus for 54 years, Çavuşoğlu said, “We always approached issues with good will, adopting a moderate stance, supporting all processes. However, the Greek Cypriot administration which sees Turkish Cypriots as a minority and which does not want to share anything with them rejected all plans and efforts.”

The Turkish foreign minister said that they had made it clear following the collapse of the talks in Crans Montana that they would no longer negotiate a federal settlement but a two-state solution.

“We shall continue to defend the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people to the very end. Everyone has to recognize the sovereignty of the TRNC and the rights granted by the 1960 constitution,” he added.