Cyprus protests Azerbaijan position on Turkish Cypriot politician

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Following claims that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is meeting with the head of the Turkish Cypriot community, Ersin Tatar, presenting him as the "President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus," a title that officially does not exist according to Cyprus, the latter is preparing for protests according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

Only Turkey recognizes Northern Cyprus as an independent state while to the rest of the world, the region is regarded as being a part of the Republic of Cyprus.

Tatar claimed, via Twitter, on Tuesday, that he met with Aliyev in Konya, Turkey, where he had traveled at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's request.

Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı Sayın Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’ın davetlisi olarak geldiğim Konya’da Azerbaycan Cumhurbaşkanı Sayın İlham Aliyev ile çok samimi bir görüşme yaptım. Münasebetlerimizin geliştirilmesi için değerlendirmelerde bulunduk. pic.twitter.com/Rbb7PL3sc9

— Ersin Tatar (@ErsinrTatar) August 9, 2022

In parallel, a press release from Aliyev's office said that the Azerbaijani president had met with "the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus." On the other hand, in Cyprus, Tatar is referred to as "the occupation leader."

Cypriot Foreign Ministry argued that "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses disappointment and dissatisfaction with the recent meeting between the President of Azerbaijan and "the occupation leader," as well as the publication about the meeting that introduced Tatar as the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus."

The ministry emphasized that this action violates both the text and the spirit of UN Security Council resolutions on Cyprus, which forbid the unilateral proclamation of independence of the Turkish-supported breakaway region and affirm Cyprus as the sole sovereign country on the island.

"Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has already issued instructions to lodge demarches at various levels to convey our dissatisfaction and disappointment with these developments and demand that they are fixed," said the FM.    

Cyprus has been divided since the Turkish army invaded the northern third of its territories in 1974, while the republic joined the European Union in 2004, whose benefits are limited to the southern part of the island where Greek Cypriots live. The southern part of Cyprus is ruled by the only authority recognized by the United Nations. In the north, Ankara only recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Earlier in July, Erdogan, after years of unsuccessful UN-backed efforts to resume talks, the most prominent of which in Switzerland in 2017, demanded the establishment of two states and the international community's recognition of Northern Cyprus. However, his demand was refused by the US.

Read more: US Rejects Turkey's Cypriot Two-state Solution