In statements yesterday, upon his return to the occupied territories, Mr. Tatar said that during their meetings at the forum they explained that a new period had now begun in Cyprus, a possible agreement could only be reached with a solution of two states living side by side and that they could not give up Turkey's guarantees and the presence of the Turkish army on the island.
"In the various assessments we made there we saw that the officials of the states that have a say in the world started to think this way," he claimed, adding that they met with Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the "ministers" from the occupied territories also had meetings in connection with various projects.
According to the GMP, the Turkish Cypriot press reported that speaking at the illegal airport in Tyboo, Ersin Tatar said that at the Forum both he and the "ministers" and Turkish Cypriot party leaders held very productive meetings and had the opportunity to meet with heads of state, foreign ministers, representatives of non-governmental organizations, diplomats and opinion leaders from around the world.
Stressing the importance of being able to explain the Cyprus problem in platforms such as the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, Mr. Tatar said they had had the opportunity to assess the "just cause" of the Turkish Cypriot "people" in various meetings there.
Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, responding to questions from Turkish TV channel Ulusal Kanal on the sidelines of the forum, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's use of the name "tdvk", as he called the pseudo-state, by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "was recorded as an expression of the sovereignty" of Turkish Cypriots. "It was a sign of our just struggle. We were satisfied that the realities of Cyprus are becoming visible."
Asked whether Lavrov's statements will take a step towards recognition of the pseudo-state, Tatar replied that the issue of recognition is an issue that will evolve over time. "We are currently explaining to the international community the just cause of the Turkish Cypriot people. If a process of talks will start in Cyprus, we say that it could be on the basis of sovereign equality, that is, on the basis of the existence of two states."
Asked in relation to the opportunities created for Russia's recognition of "tdvk", Ersin Tatar said that "it is too early for that" and that he could not make any assessment on the issue.
He argued that what Lavrov said there is "that those two states should be given the opportunity to defend themselves in various international meetings like tdvk. And of course he used the name of tdvk on that occasion. And that made us happy. Because it refers to a reality. The fact that the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation uses the name of tdvk is a reality that has started to be accepted now. This does not mean that it will be recognised. But what is the reality? There is a state called tdvk. Tdvk is the state of the Turkish Cypriot people. The tdvk may not be recognised at the moment. But it is a state and today these statements are recorded as an expression of the sovereignty of the people who represent this state. And they create for us a fair basis in the struggle we are waging."
Referring to the issue of tourism, Tatar said they were facing a problem because of the pandemic and expected an increase this year. "We will see how it will be affected by the war. Because Turkey is managing this process very well, I expect a significant flow of tourists from Russia. Russian tourists know the characteristics of this place very well. There can be an approach with the new position that has emerged. The distance with EU countries has decreased more. Some tour operators and tourist companies in tdvk are trying to build bridges."
Mr. Tatar and "supervisor", Tahsin Ertugrologu met during the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Latvia, Artis Pabriks and Foreign Affairs Commissioner of the Azerbaijani Presidency Hikmet Haciyev. He said that they also met with Sierra Leone's Foreign Minister David Francis whom he knows from the past due to a meeting on Afghanistan and he is sincere and serious on the issue of rapprochement between the "two countries."
According to Mr. Ertugruloglu, there are 430 Sierra Leonean citizens in the occupied territories as students, who told their Foreign Minister that they are very happy there.
Tatar and Ertugruloglu also met with Somali Foreign Minister Muse Ali and the delegation that accompanied him to the Forum.
Source: CNA
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