The ruling parties of Türkiye, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Azerbaijan came together on Monday in the TRNC, as they decided to establish a three-party dialogue mechanism to increase cooperation among them.
Hosted by the TRNC's National Unity Party (UBP), the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the New Azerbaijan Party were scheduled for a meeting on further cooperation.
Within the scope of the summit held in Lefkoşa (Nicosia), a joint press conference was held with the participation of a Turkish delegation under the chair of AK Party Deputy Chair Numan Kurtulmuş, and the Azerbaijani delegation headed by New Azerbaijan Party Deputy Chair Tahir Budagov.
Then, TRNC President Ersin Tatar received the delegations and give a dinner in their honor.
For his part, Tatar said his country needed the two nations' support "to strengthen and sustain the TRNC, which is part of the Turkish world, and to further its national unity."
Referring to a decision last month to make the TRNC an observer in the Organization of Turkic States, Tatar said the move was "very valuable and important" for his country.
"These are important factors that will carry our existence into the future stages and developments," he added on the decision, taken at a leaders summit on Nov. 11.
Tatar also thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, who spearheaded efforts to get the TRNC observer status in the organization with five full members and two other observers, and pointed out the increasing strategic importance of his country in the Eastern Mediterranean.
For his part, Kurtulmuş said a three-party dialogue mechanism would be established with the participation of the ruling UBP from the TRNC, AK Party, and the New Azerbaijan Party.
He noted that in the future, other political parties from the Turkic world may also join the mechanism.
Emphasizing the historical roots of Azerbaijani-Turkish Cypriot relations, Budagov expressed hope for steps to advance the ties between the two countries.
Earlier on Monday, they held a press meeting titled "One nation, three states" with Oguzhan Hasipoğlu, the UBP general secretary.
The official recognition of the TRNC by Azerbaijan would be a crucial step, senior officials from both Türkiye and the TRNC have stated many times.
The TRNC recently became a non-member observer state to the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) last month.
The Organization of Turkic States is an interstate bloc, established to expand cooperation between Turkic-speaking countries in politics, economics, science, education, transport and tourism.
Its members are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan. Hungary and Turkmenistan also have observer status.
This is the first time the TRNC is represented in an international organization with its constitutional name.
The TRNC is also an observer member in the Economic Cooperation Organization, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TÜRKSOY). The country is represented in 18 countries with 25 representations, including Germany, the United States, and Pakistan.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, during his speech at the United Nations in September, called on the international community to "recognize the TRNC."
The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong struggle between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement. The island has been divided since 1964, when ethnic attacks forced the Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece's annexation led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power. The TRNC was founded in 1983 and currently, Türkiye is the only country that officially recognizes it as a separate and independent state.
The island has seen an on-and-off peace process recently, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece, and the United Kingdom.
While Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration support a federation on the island of Cyprus, Türkiye and the TRNC insist on a two-state solution reflecting the realities on the island.
