Members of the Turkish Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) who are holding contacts in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus visited Maraş on Thursday.

Mustafa Canbey, Deputy Head of the delegation, emphasized their full support for the opening of Maraş in his speech during the visit.

Deputy Head of the PACE delegation Mustafa Canbey together with his accompanying delegation visited Maraş.

The delegation was accompanied by the National Unity Party (UBP) MP Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu and Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP Armağan Candan, the PACE Representatives in the Republic’s Assembly.

Making a statement during the visit the deputy head of the PACE delegation Mustafa Canbey said that the issue of Maraş was frequently discussed in the Council, especially the report prepared by Italian MEP Piero Fassino.

Stating that they expressed their reactions in consultation with the TRNC representatives against this report, Canbey stated that they always protect the rights of the TRNC, and as the guarantor country, they fully support the opening of Maraş.

UBP MP Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu for his part stated that they wanted to provide information to the visiting delegation on the issue of Maraş, which was constantly brought up in the council by Greek Cypriot MPs.

Stating that they had presented their findings with the Turkish delegation to PACE, Hasipoğlu emphasized that Maraş is the territory of the TRNC and it should be accepted that the Immovable Property Commission also is a decision-making authority.

Hasipoğlu said that the TRNC government has also announced to the world that it has put an end to the federation negotiations by opening Maraş, which has been the symbol of federation negotiations for years.

CTP MP Armağan Candan for his part stated that they had very fruitful meetings within the scope of their TRNC contacts with the visiting delegation.

He said that they will continue to work in cooperation with the Turkish Parliament delegation in the coming period.