Thursday, 11 August, 2022
President ErsinTatar gave a speech at a conference on “The Struggle for Existence of Turkish Cypriots on the Island” at the Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University, in Karaman, central Anatolia, BRT reported.
President Tatar said that with Turkey’s support, he wanted to bring the TRNC to the world stage
“My policy is sovereignty, the state, a national policy where ties with the motherland cannot be severed by any power“, he said.
The President began his speech by thanking the people of Karaman for their close ties and expressed his pleasure at being in his ancestral homeland.
Noting that he had attended the Islamic Solidarity Games Opening Ceremony in Konya, Tatar thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his invitation. Meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and other state officials in Konya, Tatar stated that he represents the Turkish Cypriot people.
Tatar said, “Our athletes could not take part there, because we are observer members in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, but we never gave up, we will not”. President Tatar also emphasised the importance of his bilateral meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
President Tatar stated that after the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571, there were settlements in Cyprus from various parts of Anatolia, pointing to the common roots and ties of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot people.