The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is a shining star and a key country for continued stability, as well as Türkiye’s interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, TRNC President Ersin Tatar said Wednesday.
Speaking at an event with Turkish industrialists in Ankara, the Turkish Cypriot leader highlighted his country’s significance in its region and underlined that the TRNC has “always been a part of the broader Turkic world.”
“As an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), we are a part of the larger Turkic world in its southernmost region, in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said. The organization earlier in November welcomed the TRNC as its third observer member, which Türkiye hailed as an important step in bringing Turkic states even closer.
The admission marked the first time the TRNC is being represented in an international organization with its constitutional name since its foundation in 1983 following Türkiye’s Peace Operation in 1974 that ended decades of Greek Cypriot persecution and violence on the disputed island.
The conflict between Turkish and Greek Cypriots has been ongoing for many years, drawing multiple international efforts for a solution. The U.N. has been working for years to reach a comprehensive agreement on the Cyprus issue, proposing a reunification plan for a federation and sponsoring peace talks that eventually broke down.
While Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration support the U.N. suggestion of a federal Greek Cypriot administration, the TRNC and its guarantor Türkiye have been resolutely calling for a two-state solution, stressing that “the sovereign equality and the equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots are non-negotiable.”
Tatar said their admission to the OTS was a part of the ongoing process for the TRNC’s international recognition but stressed, “However, not everything should be indexed on recognition.” He argued that the TRNC was 59 years old and this decadeslong existence was an expression of its sovereignty.
He said, “It is a great honor and pride for us to have founded our state with Türkiye’s support, to protect it, to consider ourselves an inseparable part of the larger Turkic world, and to fly our national flags for eternity because this is a national cause.”
"If there is to be an agreement in Cyprus, it must be on the basis of two states. The TRNC and the Greek Cypriot administration are two sovereign states and they can reach an agreement through cooperation,” Tatar declared.
Both sides have the right to determine their own future, he stressed.
He continued by saying the TRNC continues fighting for the sharing of Eastern Mediterranean riches like natural gas and oil, as well. “In order for our nation to be strong, to keep up with and exercise security, productivity and technology of the age, to increase and maintain welfare, all of these must be realized simultaneously and that’s when we can achieve our goals,” Tatar said.
“It shouldn’t be forgotten that the island of Cyprus was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for 350 years. It’s unacceptable that this island is a part of the EU, that a federal administration would potentially be established by unifying the north and south, excluding Türkiye, and leaving Turkish Cypriots to fend for ourselves,” he asserted.
He reiterated that Turkish Cyprus was an “inseparable” part of Türkiye and Turkish Cypriot people were the “children of the same nation” as Türkiye whose support has helped TRNC “further deepen its roots.”
He thanked the Turkish government, organizations and business personalities for always supporting the TRNC and assured his country would be “the forever representative of the Turkic world.”
