President Ersin Tatar on Monday said that the loyalty of the hundreds of thousands of Turkish Cypriots residing in Britain to their country, nation and flag was among the things that kept the TRNC standing.

President Tatar was speaking during a visit paid to him by the headmaster, teachers and students of the Rauf Raif Denktaş Turkish School from London.

According to a statement released by the Office of the President, Tatar praised the dedicated efforts of the teachers to teach Turkish to the children in London and the families’ loyalty to their country.

Noting that those who have been living in the UK for many years were raising their children as TRNC citizens, he said the teachers contributed to preserving the bonds with the TRNC and teaching of Turkish ideals.

“It is important that our citizens residing in London are raised with our traditions, language, history and national sentiments,” Tatar said.

He added that there were invaluable Turkish Cypriots residing in the UK who defended the struggle of the Turkish Cypriot people.

“Our efforts on the island are towards further strengthening our state. We, as many other places in the world, experienced difficulties during the pandemic but we started to relax the measures without letting our guard down. It is important for us to develop our contacts with the UK and to increase cooperation with various sectors. It is the families’ duty to teach their children their own language, traditions and culture,” the President said.