Azerbaijani recognition of TRNC closer after ‘very cordial’ meeting
THE prospect of Azerbaijan recognising the TRNC moved a step closer to reality this week after President Ersin Tatar met with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, in a highly publicised move.
The surprise meeting took place on Tuesday in the Turkish city of Konya, where both men had been invited to attend the opening ceremony of the fifth Islamic Solidarity Games.
Photos were released by the offices of both leaders,
showing them smiling and shaking hands.
While no flags of the TRNC or Azerbaijan were visible in the photos, significantly the official website of the Azerbaijan Presidency carried news of the meeting, referring to Mr Tatar as “the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, infuriating the Greek Cypriot authorities.
A statement from the TRNC Presidency said that the two had a “very cordial meeting where discussions were held on the Cyprus issue and on expanding relations between the two countries”.
It said the meeting took place at the Ramada Hotel Melikşah Hall and lasted for about 40 minutes.
“President Tatar also raised the issue of the unjust isolation and the need for Turkish Cypriots to be treated on an equal footing and to being able to trade directly, travel directly and to participate in international sports tournaments, rather than continuing to be inhumanely isolated despite the promises made by international actors,” the statement continued.
On the Cyprus issue, Mr Tatar explained to Mr Aliyev the necessity for formal negotiations to be held on the basis of the “sovereign equality and equal international status” of the Turkish Cypriot side.
Mr Tatar also said that Turkish Cypriots were “very proud and supportive of Azerbaijan in the Karabakh victory” in 2020 and that President Aliyev said Azerbaijan is “fully aware of the support given by the people of the TRNC during the Karabakh war”.
A statement published on President Aliyev’s official website, which made no direct mention of the Cyprus issue, said that the two “emphasised the importance of holding the 5th Islamic Solidarity Games, which serves to strengthen relations between peoples in the Turkic world” in Turkey, before adding: “During the conversation, the sides touched upon the importance of expanding relations, based on the historical bonds between the peoples of the Turkic world, in the humanitarian, cultural, educational and sports fields.”
The meeting is the most high profile between a TRNC President and the head of state of a major country other than Turkey for years, if not since the TRNC was founded in 1983.
On Thursday the Greek Cypriot foreign ministry in South Cyprus issued a statement expressing its “disappointment and regret” over the meeting between Mr Aliyev and Mr Tatar and called on the Azerbaijani government to take “corrective steps”, according to the Associated Press news agency.
It reported that the ministry said the meeting contravened UN Security Council resolutions “condemning the unilateral, decadesold declaration of a separate Turkish state in northern Cyprus” and that support for Turkish Cypriot demands “could scupper Azerbaijan’s bid for a European Union partnership deal, which would need consent from EU member Cyprus”.
European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano, asked to comment on the issue by a Greek Cypriot journalist, said that while Mr Tatar can “meet people as a community leader”, when it comes to “international relations and international politics of our member state, they are, of course, conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus”.
The TRNC Foreign Ministry hit back yesterday, saying the Greek Cypriot side had been rattled by the meeting between Mr Tatar and Mr Aliyev because it showed that they are “not the only representative of the island”.
It added that the Greek Cypriot foreign ministry statement “once again revealed that the Greek Cypriot Administration pursues a policy of preserving the status quo on the island and keeping the Turkish Cypriot people living under inhumane isolation”.