Participating in the summit on Wednesday, President Tatar said he was honoured to be at such an important event and to addressing representatives of different countries.
President Tatar thanked the organisers of the summit and continued his speech by referring to the difficulties in the region and the Cyprus issue.  

President Tatar said: “The Island of Cyprus is located in the eastern Mediterranean on the crossroads of three major continents and is located just 40 miles from Türkiye.  The volatile region plays a fundamental role in the geostrategic calculations by powers vying to have a stronger sphere of influence there, which has been exacerbated by the discovery of natural gas in the seas of our region.”

President Tatar explained the importance of economic cooperation between different nations and people across different sectors from tourism, higher education to industrial and agricultural sectors, which he said is “essential to ensuring optimal achievements” in the international community.

Referring to the Cyprus issue, President Tatar said: “For more than 50 years, negotiations to solve the Cyprus issue on an equality-based federation through different processes have failed. The Greek Cypriot side has rejected at least 15 federal-based plans during this time period, the most memorable one being the 2004 UN Comprehensive Settlement [Annan] Plan, which was put to a separately held simultaneous referenda. The Greek Cypriot People rejected this plan by 76 per cent, which was accepted by Turkish Cypriots by 65 per cent.  Despite the promises by numerous international actors and the call by the then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to end our isolation and to allow Turkish Cypriots to start direct trade and direct travel, none of these have to date come to fruition.”

Explaining that a final attempt was made to reach a federal settlement in Cyprus that ended with the collapse of the process in Crans-Montana in July 2017, President Tatar said: “The Greek Cypriot Side has a mentality that does not accept Turkish Cypriot People as equals, and they refuse to share power and resources with my People on the basis of equality.

Stating that he is putting forward a new vision and position for a two State settlement based on good neighbourly relations in Cyprus, President Tatar added: “We did not come to this position in one day. It has been more than 50 years of failed and collapsed negotiation processes. We want to foster good neighbourly relations as two States, based on the facts on the ground, where the Turkish Cypriot People and Greek Cypriot People co-exist in a cooperative relationship. We can cooperate on many different areas, from hydrocarbons and natural gas, to tourism, trade and health. We want to bring a closure to this political dispute and to build a prosperous future where the new generations can live in peace – the Turkish Cypriots and the  Greek Cypriots. However, restricting ourselves to failed and exhausted basis will only sustain the unacceptable status-quo we are trying to end. We want to open a new page in Cyprus.”

President Tatar stated that the Turkish Cypriot People endured “years of pain and suffering after we were expelled from the state apparatus of the partnership Republic of Cyprus established in 1960,” adding that “the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo undertook acts of genocide from 1963 to 1974 as part of the aspiration to unite Cyprus with Greece”.

President Tatar stated that the Turkish Cypriot People have equal inherent rights, namely sovereign equality and equal international status.  “We will never abandon our State, sovereignty and independence. The UN and all parties should respect this and adopt an equal treatment of both Sides on the Island in accordance with the facts on the ground,” President Tatar said.

Explaining that his position for a settlement that is based on the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot Side “is a position fully supported by the Republic of Türkiye,” President Tatar said: “We have proposed a settlement that is based on the cooperation of the two existing States, particularly on the issue of energy resources, and transporting natural gas to the European continent via pipelines running through the Republic of Türkiye, which is just 40 miles away from the Island. This is not only a feasible route, but a realistic one that will benefit all sides.”

President Tatar called upon the international community to take a fresh look at the realities of the Island of Cyprus, and to keep the promises made by many international actors in 2004, to end the inhumane isolation of the Turkish Cypriot People. “The Turkish Cypriot People have exactly the same equal inherent rights as those of the Greek Cypriot People, and there are two States in the Island of Cyprus,” President Tatar said. “Continuing to isolate Turkish Cypriot People who have always been the side that have supported a settlement is certainly not justice,” he added.

Pointing to the catastrophe taking place in Gazza, President Tatar said “this conflict has once again shown just how important it is for us  to have the guarantees of the Republic of Türkiye”.

Following his address, President Tatar participated on an Azerbaijan-based television programme, where he thanked President of Azerbaijan İlham Aliyev “for his support to the TRNC, at a time when the Turkish Cypriot People are trying to take their rightful place in the international arena”.

Stating that the “TRNC is an independent Turkish State,” President Tatar said “there will be no going back from our new vision and position”, and added: “In this regard, the support that will be given to the TRNC on this path will be very important. We are very honoured to be a part of the Turkish world.” Referring to the TRNC, Türkiye and Azerbaijan, President Tatar said: “We are one nation, three States”.