Erdoğan: Solidarity with Turkish Cypriots continues ahead of Turkic States summit

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has published an article titled “Türk Dünyası Yüzyılı: Dayanışmadan Bütünleşmeye” ahead of the 13th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Ankara. The article appeared on the same day in leading media of member and observer states, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Turkmenistan and Hungary.

In the article, Erdoğan said the unity of the Turkic world rests on shared history and culture, and that solidarity among Turkic states has become a strategic necessity amid changes in world politics. He named economic integration as a priority and pointed to the opportunities of the Trans-Caspian East-West Middle Corridor. On security, he said joint action would be strengthened against terrorism, cross-border crime, cyber threats and natural disasters.

On Cyprus, Erdoğan wrote that Türkiye continues its solidarity with the Turkish Cypriot people, an inseparable part of the Turkic world. He said great importance is attached to expanding the observer status of the TRNC within the organization, and that Türkiye will maintain its position calling for an end to the unjust isolation of Turkish Cypriots and recognition of their sovereign equality and equal international status. Türkiye will take over the chairmanship from Azerbaijan at the Ankara summit.