The president of unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus arrives in Uzbekistan

Ersin Tatar, the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is not recognized by any country except Turkey, arrived in Uzbekistan today, November 9, to participate in the 16th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization, which will be held in Tashkent.

Notably, official sources did not inform about Ersin Tatar's participation in this summit and his visit to Tashkent. There was no mention of the participation of a representative from the Republic of Uzbekistan in the report on the holding of the ECO summit by the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

It should be noted that the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who participated in the 10th summit of the Organization of Turkic States held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on November 2-3 this year, remained consistent with his tradition. In his speech at the summit, he supported the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and requested the support of other leaders of OTS to join the Economic Cooperation Organization as an observer.

"Last year, at our summit in Samarkand, our family council made a historic decision by unanimously granting the status of an observer member to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. I would like to thank you once again for your support in making this decision," Erdogan said in his speech at the summit.

He emphasized that, despite the isolation of the Turkish world resulting from this decision, it demonstrated that the Turkish Cypriots who did not relinquish their homeland were not alone.

Erdogan continued his speech and referred to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as "an integral part of the great Turkish family."

"It is our duty to act in solidarity with the Turkish Cypriots, who are an integral part of the great Turkish family. I believe that at our next summit, we will see the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as an observer member, as we decided. I have faith in your capable leadership in this regard," Erdogan said.

In the declaration signed by the heads of state on the results of the 10th summit of the Organization of Turkic States, it was noted that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, an integral part of the Turkic world, would have observer status in the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States and the Union of Turkish Chambers of Commerce and Industry, as well as observer status in the Economic Cooperation Organization.

Cyprus has been ethnically divided since Turkey's armed invasion in 1974, following a coup d'état carried out by supporters of the island's accession to Greece. As a result, approximately 37% of the territory of Cyprus is under the control of Turkey, with a Turkish military contingent of 40,000 people stationed in Northern Cyprus. The southern part of the island remains under the control of the Republic of Cyprus, primarily inhabited by Greek Cypriots.

Wherever he goes, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan consistently tries to support the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Ersin Tatar, and at the very least, mentions the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in his speeches. In his speech at the summit of the Organization of Turkic States held in Samarkand in November last year, Erdogan stated that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus had been admitted to the Organization of Turkic States as an observer. This decision faced no objections and was also reflected in the Samarkand Declaration. Furthermore, the flag of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was displayed at the main headquarters of the organization in Istanbul, alongside the flags of other member and observer states. Even more surprisingly, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Ersin Tatar, sat at the same table with other presidents at the extraordinary summit of the organization held in Ankara on March 16 this year.

It is worth noting that, apart from Turkey, no other country's parliament has officially recognized the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus or acknowledged its observer status in the Organization of Turkish States. Regarding this point, let's consider the latest message distributed by the Administration of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In the official information confirming the participation of the head of Uzbekistan in the summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Astana, there was no mention of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus having observer status in the organization.

"The Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Turkey are members of the organization, and Hungary and Turkmenistan are observers in the organization," stated in the information.

Hence, despite its presence in the Samarkand declaration and the display of its flag at the headquarters, Uzbekistan does not recognize Northern Cyprus as an observer in this organization. This situation is not unique to Uzbekistan but is consistent with the stance of other countries as well.