President Ersin Tatar is holding contacts in the Erzincan province of Türkiye.

The President who came together with journalists at the Erzincan Governorate reminded that the Turkish Cypriot side had always shown its good will in negotiations aimed at reaching a federal solution in Cyprus which continued for many years.

Stressing the importance of the cooperation between Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Tatar stated that an agreement in Cyprus was very important for Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, but also for the preservation of the Turkish-Greek balance.

Speaking in Erzincan, President Ersin Tatar said that Cyprus was a Turkish island which had been under the Ottoman rule for 350 years.

“The Turkish Cypriot people, through the games played by international actors to steal this island from them, were subjected to all kinds of injustices and human rights violations,” Tatar said, adding that despite all these efforts, the Turkish Cypriot people resisted.

He pointed out that the Turkish Resistance Organization had been established with the spirit of this resistance and Turkish existence has been maintained until today with the support of Anatolia.

Stating that the 20 July Cyprus Peace Operation was a turning point in the island’s history, the president said, “the arrival of Turkish troops on July 20, 1974 paved the way for laying the foundations of the TRNC. After that day, it became clear how important our independence and freedom is.”

Tatar reminded that throughout the decades of talks held for a federal settlement, the Turkish Cypriots had always demonstrated its good will. He also pointed out that the US, by lifting the arms sales embargo, had given the Greek Cypriot side the message that it should rearm.

Stating that a new era had begun with his election as president, Tatar said that any agreement to be reached in Cyprus could only be on the basis of sovereign equality.

Referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s speech at the UN General Assembly, President Tatar said Erdoğan’s statement that the sovereign equality and equal international status of Turkish Cypriots needed to be recognized before a settlement could be reached on the island and that the inhumane embargoes imposed on them needed to be removed was historic.

Stressing that it was very important to reject the games being played in Cyprus after similar games were played in the Aegean, to keep the TRNC alive and to establish all kinds of cooperation with Türkiye, he stated that an agreement in Cyprus is important not only for the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots living on the island, but also for the preservation of the Turkish-Greek balance.

Expressing his happiness to be in Erzincan to attend the International Symposium of the Turkic World, the president said that they continued to build relations with the Turkish states with the support of Türkiye.

“We are the representative of all Turkish republics in the Eastern Mediterranean. We are one and we are the children of the same nation. Nobody wants war or conflict in this age. What we want is the protection of our rights and interests. It is my wish that the TRNC will become stronger with the support of Türkiye,” he said.

As part of his contacts in Erzincan, the president attended a conference titled “Past, present and future of Türkiye and the Turkic world towards 2023” which was held within the scope of the International Symposium of the Turkic World and came together with former Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım.He also met with Cyprus war veterans later in the day.