The TRNC was represented at the first meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee Chairs of Turkic States’ Parliaments in Baku with a delegation from the Republic’s Assembly’s Committee on Legal, Political and Foreign Affairs.
According to the information provided by the Assembly, the delegation from the Republic of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Hungary attended the meeting held at the Khazar Hall of the National Assembly of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of the Republic’s Assembly’s Legal, Political Affairs and Foreign Affairs Committee National Unity Party (UBP) MP Yasemin Öztürk reminded that the TRNC was accepted as an observer member country to the Organization of Turkic States on November 11, 2022, and has rights in the great Turkic world.
Öztürk said that at the 12th TURKPA General Assembly held in Ankara, the TRNC parliament gaining observer status helped it to further strengthen its bond with other Turkic States.
She also referred to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement that they are pleased to see their Turkish Cypriot brothers and sisters among them and that the TRNC flag will be waved in Azerbaijan, which he expressed at the reception of the ministers before the meeting of the Organization of Turkic States in Baku.
Öztürk said that this statement is very important and valuable for them.
Describing President Ersin Tatar’s visit to Baku on October 14, 2023, and his meeting with Aliyev as a historical event, Öztürk reminded that Tatar was welcomed at the highest level during his stay in Baku and that a state protocol was implemented.
Stating that the relationship between the TRNC and Azerbaijan was not something new, Öztürk said that the ancient ties between the two countries have been going on for years.
She explained that they are trying to overcome the devastating consequences of the separate humanitarian embargoes imposed on the TRNC with the endless support of the Motherland Türkiye in every field adding that they will continue to defend their just cause on every platform.
Emphasizing that the inequality created by the international community between the statuses of the two sides on the Island is the main reason for the Cyprus issue, Öztürk said that a solution based on sovereign equality, equal international status and two separate states, is inevitable.
Meanwhile, as part of its contacts in Baku, the TRNC parliamentary delegation was received by the Speaker of the Azerbaijan Parliament Sahiba Gafarova.
The committee chairs of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Hungary were also present at the meeting.
Speaking during the visit, Öztürk drew attention to the strong bond that exists between the TRNC and Azerbaijan.
She also described the agreement on April 5 to establish a friendship group between the two parliaments as a milestone.
The delegation is set to visit the town of Shusha in Nagorno Karabakh later today.