Erdoğan: We Expect Greater Support for the Turkish Cypriots’ Two-State Struggle

Speaking at the opening of the 41st session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the OIC (COMCEC) in Istanbul, Erdoğan said, “We expect you to lend greater support to the Turkish Cypriots’ struggle for rights, freedom, and justice on the basis of a two-state solution.”

Emphasising that Turkey, as the motherland and guarantor country, would never abandon the Turkish Cypriots, Erdoğan said: “We are receiving strong signals that Cyprus is being added to the menu of a new imperialist game being plotted in our region. As the motherland and guarantor, we will never leave the Turkish Cypriot people alone and will always stand by them in their just cause.”

Addressing the participants, Erdoğan added: “Our brothers and sisters from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are among us today. The Turkish Cypriot people are an inseparable part of the Islamic world. Unfortunately, they have been subjected to unfair, unlawful, and ruthless isolation for decades simply because of this identity. Yet despite these pressures, our Turkish Cypriot brothers have not bowed down. They have never given up their determination to live honourably in their own homeland or allowed their sovereign equality to be questioned.”

He concluded by underlining the importance of solidarity within the OIC: “I see it as vital that our organisation further strengthens its solidarity with the Turkish Cypriot people. As Turkey, we will continue to stand by them in every forum and under all circumstances.”