Khaberni - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Monday of signals of a new imperial game being plotted on the island of Cyprus, stressing that Turkish Cypriots are an integral part of the Islamic world.
This was stated by him at the Istanbul Convention Center, during the opening of the 41st meeting of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation "COMCEC".
Erdogan added: "It is unfortunate that Turkish Cypriots have been subjected to unjust, illegal, and harsh isolation for decades because of their identity."
He continued: "However, our Turkish Cypriot brothers have not succumbed to the pressure, have not given up their will to live with dignity in their homeland, and have never doubted their right to sovereign equality."
Erdogan pointed out that "there are strong signals of a desire to add Cyprus to the list of a new imperial game being planned in the region."
He added: "In this regard, I believe it is important that our organization (the Islamic Cooperation) strengthens its solidarity with the Turkish Cypriot people."
He continued: "We expect more support from you for the struggle of the Turkish Cypriots for their rights, freedom, and fairness, based on a two-state solution."
He followed up: "As a guarantor state for them, we will never abandon the Turkish Cypriot people, and we will always stand by them in their rightful cause."
Cyprus has suffered from division between a Turkish north and a Greek south since 1974, and in 2004 Greek Cypriots rejected a United Nations plan to unite the two parts of the island.
Since the collapse of Cyprus reunification talks held in Switzerland under the auspices of the United Nations in July 2017, no formal negotiations mediated by the United Nations to settle the conflict on the island have taken place.
