Prime Minister Ünal Üstel met with Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay on Tuesday within the framework of his contacts in the Turkish capital Ankara.

A joint press conference was held after the meeting.

Speaking at the joint press conference, the Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said that the Adıyaman’s Attorney General had launched an investigation into the collapse of the İsias Hotel in which the Gazimağusa Türk Maarif College volleyball team perished.

“The death of the ‘Champion Angels’ has caused deep sorrow among all of us.  The Attorney General’s Office in Adıyaman is conducting an investigation into the collapse of the building. We are following the case closely. We would also like to thank the Cyprus Turkish Solidarity Platform for the container homes,” he said.

Oktay also announced that the planning for a social housing project in Derinya had been completed and that construction would begin soon.

The Turkish vice president said that preplanning for the interconnector project between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) from Türkiye was also underway.

He said that numerous other infrastructure projects will also find life.

On the Cyprus issue, Oktay reiterated the Turkish government’s full support to a settlement on the island based on sovereign equality.

He called on the international community to recognise the TRNC.

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel for his part said that Türkiye’s support to the TRNC, politically or economically, will continue to grow.

Explaining that around 49 TRNC citizens had died in the February 6 earthquake, Üstel said that both the TRNC and Türkiye had experienced a real disaster.

“Among those who perished were our children, the Gazimağusa Türk Maarif College’s secondary school boys and girls volleyball teams. I would like to express my sympathies to all those families who lost loved ones,” the prime minister said.

He added that the Turkish Cypriot people had mobilized all means to help and support their brothers and sisters in Türkiye.

The prime minister reminded that the Turkish Cypriot people, throughout history, had always stood by the side of the Anatolian people.

He expressed his conviction that Türkiye will emerge stronger from this disaster.

“A strong Türkiye means a strong TRNC,” said Üstel as he thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and the Turkish government.