President Ersin Tatar on Wednesday addressed a panel organised by the Eko Avrasya Foundation in Ankara titled, “The admission of the TRNC to the Organisation of Turkic States.”
Delivering a speech at the event, President Ersin Tatar pointed out that the speech delivered by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the latest UN General Assembly calling for an end to the embargoes imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people as historic.
He reminded that the Turkish president had also made it clear that it was high time the international community recognized the TRNC.
Tatar also said that the admission of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as an observer member to the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) was an important milestone for the Turkish Cypriot people.
“For the first time, the TRNC which was admitted into the organisation with its constitutional name will have the opportunity to develop relations with other countries and organisations at an institutional level”, he said, adding that this will strengthen the cause of the TRNC.
“The TRNC’s struggle concerns the struggle for Turkish presence in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said.
President Ersin Tatar also pointed out that Türkiye was the voice of the Turkish Cypriot people and the TRNC particularly in light of the fact that Turkish Cypriots, obstructed by embargoes and international isolation, were prevented from doing so in the international arena.
He said that Türkiye’s support was vital to repulse attempts to scrap the TRNC and erase it from history.
“That is why Türkiye’s guarantees and the presence of Turkish troops in Cyprus must continue,” Tatar added.
Touching upon the possibility of talks with the Greek Cypriots, Tatar said that negotiations could only resume as and when the sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriot people is recognized.
The president said that the current goal of the TRNC was to strengthen its economy, develop ties with third countries and to strengthen existing bonds with motherland Türkiye.
“The TRNC is an unbreakable part of the Turkic world,” he concluded.
Later in the day, President Ersin Tatar paid a visit to the Central Union of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen Credit and Bail Cooperatives (TESKOMB) where he attended a meeting with the union representatives.