ArmInfo.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is on a visit to Northern Cyprus, expressed hope that high-level visits from Azerbaijan to the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will continue. He told the journalist about this after the holiday prayer on the occasion of Gurban Bayram in the Hala Sultan mosque.
Answering the question about the possibility of Azerbaijan's recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Turkish leader noted that there are no doubts in this matter. "We are constantly discussing this topic with my brother Ilham Aliyev," Erdogan said, quoted by APA.
Meanwhile, a number of telegram channels cite a more detailed quote from the Turkish leader, which, in particular, says: "The recognition of the independence of Turkish Cyprus by Azerbaijan is being discussed with my brother Ilham Aliyev, at the moment there are no barriers to the recognition of the independence of Turkish Cyprus by Azerbaijan. And from now on we will talk Republic of Turkish Cyprus without northern, because Cyprus is a Turkic land. "
We also note that yesterday Erdogan, referring to the settlement of the Cyprus issue, noted that negotiations are possible only on the basis of the principle of two states.
"Turkey stands for the settlement of the conflict in Cyprus on the basis of the principle of two equal and sovereign states. Negotiations on Cyprus are now possible only on the basis of this principle," Erdogan told reporters before leaving for a visit to the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
He reiterated that the establishment of high-level contacts between the TRNC and various countries of the world, including Azerbaijan, is the result of Ankara's efforts.
To note, Azerbaijan does not recognize the illegal entity known in Turkey as the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" yet. However, its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic recognizes it in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 541 and UN Security Council Resolution 550. Experts in Greece and Cyprus are convinced that official Baku does not do this, fearing that in response, Athens and Nicosia will recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. Analysts are also convinced that if Nagorno-Karabakh ceases to exist, the Azerbaijani government will become the second country after Turkey to officially recognize the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus". Cyprus has been de facto divided between the Greek and Turkish communities since 1974 following an armed invasion by Turkey, provoked by an attempt to annex the island to Greece. 37% of the island's territory was occupied, on which the TRNC was proclaimed in 1983. Only Turkey recognized it. Negotiations between the Greek and Turkish communities on the reunification of Cyprus are being mediated by the UN. They were interrupted after the failure of the next round, which took place in the Swiss town of Crans-Montana in 2017. New leader of the Turkish Cypriots, Ersin Tatar, who was elected in the elections on October 18, 2020, is in favor of a confederal system of Cyprus, while the Greek Cypriots propose a two-zonal bi-communal federal state.