WHAT WILL THE NEW NORTHERN CYPRUS LOOK LIKE?

Turkish Cypriots have demanded official recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and recognition of their inalienable rights, TRNC Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloglu said  at a meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) held in Uzbekistan. "This is a new path that we have embarked on and we have no way back, regardless of whether our proposal will be accepted  by the Greek Cypriot side or not. Greek Cypriots and the international community must accept the undeniable reality of Cyprus, which is that there are two separate sovereign states, two separate democracies, two separate peoples," Ertuğruloglu said  in a speech at the 26th meeting of the ECO Council of Ministers in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, where the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a member.  Observer. Meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the Member States of Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Ertuğruloğlu thanked the Government of Uzbekistan for hosting this important meeting during  his address to the Council.  and his team for their efforts in organizing the event. The intention to organize ECO events in the TRNC in 2023, Ertuğruloglu noted that preparations have already begun. Ertuğruloglou said that "the Cyprus issue has been on the agenda of the international community for almost 60 years and there is still no solution." "As geography dictates, Cyprus has two owners, neither of whom has the right to rule the other, and the only way forward requires the cooperation of both sides," Ertuğruloglu said, noting that both peoples on the island are sovereignly equal and that any efforts to solve this problem must take this fact into account.

Stressing that there will be no mutually acceptable agreement until the international community's view on the Cyprus issue changes, the Minister noted that more than five decades have been lost due to the Cyprus negotiations and that the time has come to move forward with a new vision. The acceptance of reality will certainly bring the necessary stability, security and cooperation on and around the island, Ertuğruloglu stressed that this cooperation should be based on the sovereign equality and international equal status of the two peoples and the two states on the island. For this reason, the Turkish Cypriots demand official recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and recognition of their inalienable rights, namely the sovereign equality of the state and its equality.  international status. "This new path that we have embarked on has no way back, regardless of whether it is accepted by the Greek Cypriot side or not. The Greek Cypriots and the international community must recognize the undeniable reality of Cyprus, namely the existence of two separate sovereign states, two separate democracies, two separate peoples," he said. "I believe that we will remove obstacles in order to take our rightful place in the international community," the minister added, stressing that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is firmly on its feet with the support of Turkey. "I sincerely hope that the ECO member States will promptly take concrete steps to engage more actively with the Turkish Cypriot State in all areas, which will help us to overcome the inhumane restrictions and embargoes imposed on us by the Greek Cypriot side," he concluded.