President Ersin Tatar holds meeting with Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of the Republic of Türkiye Mustafa Şentop
“Faith and trust in the TRNC has increased”
Photos
President Ersin Tatar met Speaker of Turkish Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, Mustafa Şentop, who visited the country to take part in the celebrations commemorating the 39th anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
President Tatar stated that the anniversary was this year being celebrated with a “heavy heart” because of the sadness felt by the Turkish Cypriot People due to the loss of life as a result of the trecherous attack in İstanbul.
The President said that his thoughts and prayers were with the families and loved ones of those who died following the attack, and he expressed condolences to the families and wished a speedy recovery to those who were injured in the bomb attack.
President Tatar wished that such acts of terrorism will not hinder the Republic of Türkiye in continuing to become stronger. Reiterating the importance of the historical speech of the President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the UN General Assembly and the historic call to the international community for the formal recognition of the TRNC, President Tatar noted that the admission of TRNC' as an observer member to the Organisation of Turkic States has been a great success for President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Turkish diplomats.
"There is no turning back from this path"
Expressing that the difficulties experienced by the TRNC, being under embargoes and isolation, can be overcome, President Tatar stated that the acceptance of the TRNC as an observer member to the Organisation of Turkic States would pave the way to opening other doors. Expressing that the admission of TRNC as an observer status with its constitutional name has conveyed an important message to the international community, President Tatar said: "There is no turning back from this path."
The President stated that a settlement in Cyprus can be reached on the basis of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People, that is based on the cooperative relationship of two separate sovereign equal States.
He added that the changing geopolitical environment and conjuncture in the eastern Mediterranean had increased the importance of the TRNC.
The President also stated that the the Turkish Cypriot people have been persecuted and are today continuing to be subject to inhuman isolation that is preventing their development.
However he said economic figures have shown that the TRNC has reached pre-pandemic levels.
Wishing the Republic of Türkiye and the TRNC to continue their cooperation, President Ersi Tatar said that the Turkish Cypriot people have suffered a lot, but that the economic figures "Now, faith and trust in the TRNC has increased even more," he said.
President Tatar refered to the ‘Project of the Century’ water project – where 75 million m3 of water is piped under a 80km undersea pipeline from Türkiye to the TRNC. “The project has been further expanded to enable water to be used in the Mesaoria Plain and Güzelyurt Plain. This is a significant development that will help our producers in the agricultural sector and attract new investment,” the President stated.
He stated that the structure of the TRNC has been strengthened with economic and social developments, and expressed his gratitude to the Republic of Türkiye for “greatly supporting this process”.
President Tatar said that it was with these thoughts that he welcomed Mr Şentop, who supports the TRNC on different platforms of the world, to the TRNC. The President extended his warmest regards to the President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Mustafa Şentop also thanked President Tatar on behalf of himself and his delegation for his hospitality, adding: “The TRNC is our homeland. We feel it.”
Mr Şentop stated that the “TRNC will continue to exist and remain independent,” adding: “The TRNC has a very special place for the Republic of Türkiye. There are very few issues that all political parties can agree on. However the Cyprus issue and the TRNC is one issue where there is full agreement among our political parties. We see the issue of the TRNC as being above party politics.”
“Cyprus is a national cause for Türkiye”
Underlining that Cyprus is a national cause for Türkiye, Mr Şentop noted that negotiations that have been continuing on the same basis for a settlement in Cyprus for many decades have been exhausted. He stated: “As a result of these failures, a new vision and paradigm has been announced by President Tatar in April 2021, where a new era has been opened. The position on sovereign equality and equal international status is fully supported by the Republic of Türkiye. There is no point or benefit in reverting back to the old basis which have been tried time and time again without success.”
Mr Şentop added that the Republic of Türkiye is today putting forward efforts to realise the goal that was stated by President Erdoğan in his address at the UN General Assembly in New York in September, with regards to his call for the formal recognition of the TRNC by the international community.
Mr. Şentop emphasised that the concrete steps were being taken on this issue, and he said the TRNC has become an observer member of the Organisation of Turkic States.
He added: “An important step has been taken and I believe a psychological barrier has been overcome”. The Parliamentary Speaker of the Republic of Türkiye added that the 12th General Assembly of the Organisation of Turkic States will be held in İstanbul on April 24-25. He said he will be assuming the term presidency as the Republic of Türkiye. He said it is important for the TRNC Parliament to have “inter-parliamentary relations”.