Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said Ankara expects certain members of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) to take steps “to redress” after Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan appointed ambassadors to the Greek Cypriot administration. Cyprus is divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Türkiye does not recognize the Greek Cypriot side, while the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is fully recognized only by Ankara.
The decision was voiced at a summit between Central Asian countries and the European Union on April 4, although Kurtulmuş noted that it did not mean countries would open embassies in the Greek Cypriot side of the island.
“Uzbekistan and other countries do not have ambassadors there, and they have diplomats accredited with missions elsewhere. Still, this was an unexpected approach for Türkiye and a great disappointment,” Kurtulmuş was quoted by Turkish media on Tuesday.
The parliament speaker was in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, on Monday and Tuesday, holding talks with senior officials. “We discussed this matter in our talks here with Mr. President and the chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers. Certainly, what happened has already happened. We are not in a position to tell other countries how to maintain relations with third countries, but based on our brotherly ties, we expressed that we were seriously disturbed by this development and countries should redress this,” he said.
The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long struggle between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement. Five decades of talks on Cyprus have led nowhere. The status of the island remains unresolved, in spite of a series of negotiations over the years. While Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration support a federation on Cyprus, Türkiye and the TRNC insist on a two-state solution reflecting the realities on the island.
Kurtulmuş said the main issue was recognition of the Turkish Cypriot side. “Kyrgyzstan, for instance, has a representation there. Other countries can accredit their ambassador in a nearby country as the ambassador to the TRNC. Countries can undertake joint cultural programs. The TRNC can hold events here, and its president, Ersin Tatar, may visit. So, informally, OTS countries can take steps recognizing the existence of a Turkish political identity in northern Cyprus,” he said.
He stated that Turkic states responded positively to Türkiye’s request for further recognition of the TRNC. “I believe they will soon address this issue. I discussed this with my counterparts from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan when they visited us last week, on condition that we would not discuss it publicly. They are aware of how sensitive we are on this matter, and we hope those countries will take the necessary steps,” he said.
Kurtulmuş also lamented the fact that some critics of the process tried to portray the matter as something that led to a divide between Türkiye and Turkic states.
“They are trying to sow strife between Türkiye, TRNC and the Turkic world. We should not allow it to happen,” he said.
