President Ersin Tatar is in Azerbaijan to attend a leaders’ summit of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS).

Tatar was personally invited to the summit by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, who said in February that “the president of the TRNC will attend the summit to be held in Shusha upon my invitation. This will accelerate the unity of the Turkic people.”

Among those who will be attending the summit is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The summit, which will take place in the town of Shusha, in the Karabakh region, which was recaptured by Azerbaijan from Armenian forces last year.

Speaking before his departure from Ercan airport on Thursday, Tatar thanked Aliyev “for the great support he has given to the TRNC to date and for inviting us to the Shusha summit”.

He said that advancing the TRNC’s status as an observer member of the OTS is his “primary goal” and reiterated his call for two separate states with sovereign equality as a solution to the Cyprus problem.

Additionally, he said the TRNC is a “natural member of the Turkic union”.

“We are stronger together. We are going to meet with the family,” he said.

Tatar’s attendance at the summit will mark the latest episode in Azerbaijan’s flirtation with recognition of the TRNC.

Aliyev had last month said his country is making “diplomatic efforts” for the north to become an observer member of the OTS, with the TRNC’s observer status having been agreed upon by the OTS’ leaders’ summit in 2022, but with parliamentary ratification from the five member states still pending.

Among those accompanying President Ersin Tatar are Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, the President’s Undersecretary Okan Donangil and Tatar’s Special Representative Güneş Onar.