Azerbaijan hails Turkish Cyprus’ Turkic Summit presence as key step for recognition
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev speaks during an address to the nation in Baku, Azerbaijan October 9, 2020. (Courtesy of the official web-site of President of Azerbaijan)
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev underscored the significance of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar’s participation in an informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) as a critical step toward the recognition of the TRNC.
Tatar attended the two-day informal summit of OTS heads of state in early July, held in Shusha, a city in Azerbaijan’s recently liberated Karabakh region.
Speaking at the “Unmasking False Narratives: Confronting Disinformation” forum in Shusha, Aliyev congratulated Tatar on the 50th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation.
He highlighted Tatar’s participation in the summit under the TRNC flag as a significant milestone towards its recognition.
Aliyev emphasized the importance of Tatar’s presence at the summit, calling it an important step toward the international recognition of the TRNC.
Global power center: Turkic states
Expressing Azerbaijan’s support for Turkish Cypriots, Aliyev expressed optimism about the future of the OTS, envisioning it as a global power center established through collective efforts.
The TRNC holds observer status in the OTS, an intergovernmental organization established in 2009 to promote collaboration among Turkic nations.
Azerbaijan regained control of most of the Armenian-occupied Karabakh region during a 44-day war in the fall of 2020, which ended with a Russian-brokered peace deal that facilitated normalization and border delineation.
Last September, Azerbaijan established complete sovereignty over Karabakh when separatist forces in the region surrendered.
