East Med security symposium in Lefkoşa
Date Added: 14 October 2022

President Ersin Tatar said on Thursday that balances in the world have shifted, once again raising the importance of Cyprus.

Addressing the opening session of a symposium titled “Security, Stability and Cooperation in the Mediterranean” organised by Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies (OSRAM) at the Ankara Social Sciences University’s North Cyprus campus, President Ersin Tatar drew attention to the shifting balances and equations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

He drew attention to the importance of preserving and maintaining the existence of Turkish Cypriots on the island and added that these shifting dynamics and balances have demonstrated the importance of the national cause waged in Cyprus.

He said that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus had once again proved its strategic importance for the Blue Homeland Doctrine.

Tatar added that the Turkish Cypriot people will continue to maintain and further develop its close cooperation with motherland Türkiye.

“We need to continue to implement our national policy unwaveringly. We can only have a say in this region by maintaining our existence,” said President Tatar, adding that the time had come for the UN to stop insisting on a federal settlement which had been adopted as a basis for a solution 60 years ago.

Also speaking at the conference, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Zorlu Töre said that games were being played in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Cyprus Issue.

He said that the UN and EU were acting as it served their purpose, producing decisions that were against the interests of the Turkish Cypriot people.

“The TRNC is a strong state in the region thanks to the support of Türkiye,” Töre said, adding that it was important for the TRNC to be politically recognized in terms of security and energy resources in the region.

The parliamentary speaker said that the developments concerning the game between Turkish football club Fenerbahçe and the Greek Cypriot football club AEK was the latest example of the sports embargoes imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people.