TRNC speaker says vision of Turkish, Azerbaijani leaders bearing fruit

The Turkic world should become an inseparable whole, and the vision of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is already producing results, Speaker of the Parliament of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ziya Öztürkler has said.

During a meeting with a delegation led by Binali Yildirim, head of the Council of Elders of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS), he noted that Lefkosa's next foreign policy objective is to secure full membership in the OTS, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

"Our country is ready to fulfil all obligations in this direction. The strength of the Turkic world is the strength of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," he added.

Öztürkler also stressed the importance of Northern Cyprus being represented in the OTS Council of Elders through Oktay Öksüzoğlu and said Lefkosa remained open to all forms of dialogue with countries of the Turkic world.

Addressing the situation on the island, he said Turkish Cypriots had consistently maintained a constructive position and supported dialogue with the Greek Cypriot community.

"Nicosia should abandon outdated approaches that continue to fuel the deadlock in the negotiation process," Öztürkler remarked.

He expressed confidence that stability and good-neighbourly relations on the island could only be achieved in an atmosphere of mutual understanding, respect and recognition of the rights of both sides.

For his part, Yildirim highlighted the close ties between Türkiye and the TRNC.

"The dialogue between Ankara and Lefkosa is not limited to bilateral platforms. Since the TRNC obtained observer status in the OTS, contacts at various levels have expanded significantly, including among business communities, universities and civil society organisations, particularly with Azerbaijan as well as Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan," he stated.

Yildirim made it clear that the isolation and embargo faced by Turkish Cypriots for many years were gradually losing their significance and that the Turkic world increasingly viewed the TRNC as an integral part of the broader Turkic space.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov