“The time has come for the embargoes imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people to be removed, this is our expectation from the international community,” President Ersin Tatar said during a speech he delivered at the Global Quality Summit in Istanbul.

Attending the Global Quality Summit organised at the Swissotel The Bosphorous held under the theme “Quality Türkiye”, President Ersin Tatar criticised those who argued that Turkish Cypriots had no other option but to reach a solution with Greek Cypriots.

“Turkish Cypriots are not desperate and are not without options,” the president said, adding that the Turkish Cypriot people deserved an independent and honourable existence on the island.

Referring to the recent remarks made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the UN General Assembly last month, Tatar said that the time had come for the embargoes imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people to be removed.

“This is our expectation from the international community,” he added.

Tatar also received a “Diplomacy Success Award” at the summit.