President Ersin Tatar meets with Cyprus veterans in Erzincan, Türkiye
President Tatar: “As the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stated, a settlement can be reached in Cyprus between the two Sides on the basis of sovereign equality and equal international status.”
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President Ersin Tatar has underlined that Turkish Cypriots are an “inseparable” part of the Turkish nation during a conference titled "Past, Present and Future of Türkiye and the Turkic World Towards 2023."
The conference was held at the Erzincan Mufti Conference Hall as part of the International Symposium of the Turkic World. The President also met with a group of Cyprus veterans together with Binali Yıldırım, Deputy Chairman of the AK Party and Chairman of the Aksakallar Delegation of the Organisation of Turkic States at Aşevi of Erzincan Municipality.
In his speech during the meeting, President Tatar stated that Turkish Cypriots “are an inseparable part of the Turkish nation”.
Emphasising that the Turkish Cypriot People as well as the Republic of Türkiye rejected the long-standing aspiration and efforts by the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo to annex Cyprus to Greece, the President stated: “Following 11 years of persecution and acts of genocide committed against the Turkish Cypriot People between 1963-1974, Türkiye, one of the guarantor powers, exercised her right of intervention and undertook the Peace Operation in 1974.”
President Tatar added that the “island of Cyprus is very important for the Turkish nation not only because of the existence of Turkish Cypriots that form an integral part of the Turkish nation, but also due to the geostrategic environment”.
Expressing that Turkish Cypriots have always continued the struggle in Cyprus with a spirit of resistance together with the Republic of Türkiye, President Tatar said: “The arrival of Turkish forces brought peace to the island following years of bloodshed and freedom for the Turkish Cypriot people, who in 1983 proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.”
“Since then, the Turkish Cypriot People have with the support of Motherland Türkiye, continued their struggle for decades for the acceptance of their sovereignty and independence and to take their rightful place in the world,” the President said.
President Tatar stated that Türkiye was continuing to protect the legitimate rights of the Turkish Cypriot People in the eastern Mediterranean which is of vital importance. He added that a settlement can be reached in Cyprus on the basis of sovereign equality and equal international status of the two separate and sovereign States that are in a cooperative relationship.
President Tatar said: “Cyprus is a historic national cause for us. The Greek Cypriots are solely responsible for the instability in Cyprus, due to their erroneous belief that the Republic of Türkiye is not a guarantor country and the Turkish Cypriot people are not one of the equal co-founders of the partnership they usurped through force of arms.” He added that the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has fully supported the Turkish Cypriot Side’s policy for a settlement that is based on sovereign equality, adding: “We are determined to take this policy to the end.”
President Tatar thanked the Cyprus veterans for their sacrifice and heroism in the struggle to defend the existence and rights of the Turkish Cypriot People.
Following his speech, President Tatar proceeded to light the fire of the Turkic world in Ergan Mountain.
AK Party Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the Aksakallar (Whitebeards) Delegation of the Organisation of Turkic States Binali Yıldırım, Secretary-General of the Organisation of Turkic States Baghdad Amreyev, Azerbaijan Aksakali (whitebeard) member Hasan Hasanov, Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye Prime Ministry Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities Sayit Yusuf, former Minister of National Defence Vecdi Gönül, Governor of Erzincan, Erzincan mayor, deputy general secretaries of Organisation of Turkic States, representatives of Turkish states, deputies and citizens were also present at the event.