Ertuğruloğlu urges OIC states to act on ending unjust isolation of Turkish Cypriots

Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu called on Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states to take concrete and timely steps to end unjust isolation of Turkish Cypriots. He spoke at the 52nd session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, held on 17-18 October in Baghdad, Iraq, under the theme “Dialogue and Solidarity.”

Ertuğruloğlu said the Turkish Cypriot side did not want to lose another 50 years negotiating over an exhausted model. “The reality of the island is two states on one island,” he said, adding that the Turkish Cypriot side is ready for a fair, lasting agreement based on sovereign equality and equal international status.

He also cited inhumane embargoes and unjust isolation that prevent Turkish Cypriot young people, athletes, artists and academics from fully joining international activities. He thanked Iraq and OIC Secretary-General Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, and thanked Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for calling on UN members to recognise the TRNC. The delegation is expected to return home today.