Other countries ‘expected’ to recognise north

Other countries are “expected” to recognise the north, Turkish presidential foreign policy advisory board member Aygun Attar said on Friday.

Attar was speaking to the Turkish Anadolu Agency ahead of an Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) meeting in the Azerbaijani town of Shusha which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar are both set to attend.

“It is of great importance for Turkic states to come together, find common ground, and carry out joint activities in terms of political and cultural diplomacy,” she said, adding her thanks to those who have worked on building the OTS since its founding in 2009.

She added that “important news is expected” regarding the north becoming a full member of the OTS and “being recognised by other Turkic states”.

Tatar departed Cyprus on Thursday to travel to Azerbaijan, having been personally invited to the summit by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.

Aliyev said in February that “the president of the TRNC will attend the summit to be held in Shusha upon my invitation. This will accelerate the unity of the Turkic people.”

Speaking before his departure from Ercan (Tymbou) airport, Tatar thanked Aliyev “for the great support he has given to the TRNC to date and for inviting us to the Shusha summit”.

Azerbaijan has for a while been flirting with recognition of the north, and many believe that if any country aside from Turkey will recognise the north, it will likely be Azerbaijan.

Aliyev had last month said his country is making “diplomatic efforts” for the north to become an observer member of the OTS, with the north’s observer status having been agreed upon by the OTS’ leaders’ summit in 2022, but with parliamentary ratification from the five member states still pending.

He had added at the time that he supports the north becoming a full member of the OTS.

“This is very natural, because historically, the TRNC is a part of the Turkic world. The Turks living there are our brothers,” he said.

The moves have earned the ire of Cyprus’ House President Annita Demetriou, who promised in April that she would “send a message” to Azerbaijan over its relations with the north.

Specifically, she was referring to the country’s decision to create an ‘inter-parliamentary’ group with the north’s ‘parliament’, adding that she would pen a letter to her Azerbaijani counterpart Sahiba Gafarova to condemn the move.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first time Azerbaijan has made such an effort. We must once again do everything in our power to stop it. It is unacceptable and reprehensible,” she said.

Aside from Turkey and Azerbaijan, the OTS has three other members: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.