Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan came together with soldiers at an iftar dinner in Türkiye on Monday and touched upon the Cyprus issue during the speech he delivered there.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referred to the Cyprus issue by reminding that the Turkish Cypriots came back from the brink of genocide half a century ago and that despite all pressures, if it were not for Türkiye’s intervention, there would be no Turkish Cypriots today.

Noting that Türkiye is renowned as a nation of soldiers and distinguished in the world with this quality, Erdoğan said “we can never allow the consciousness of martyrdom, one of the basic values that make us who we are, to weaken. Otherwise, we will not be able to protect our homeland”.

“During the 1974 Peace Operation, 498 of our soldiers from all corners of our country, including officers, non-commissioned officers and privates, were martyred. Despite all the pressures, if it were not for Türkiye’s intervention, there would be neither the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus nor the Turkish Cypriots today. In fact, if we had continued there would be no south or north, Cyprus would have been completely ours” said Erdoğan.