AZE.US
Azerbaijan plays an active role in supporting Turkey’s position on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Azerbaijani lawmaker Elchin Mirzabayli said.
As AZE.US reports, Mirzabayli said Ankara receives some of its strongest political support on the Northern Cyprus issue from Azerbaijan.
The lawmaker pointed to the Turkish Cypriot administration’s observer status in the Organization of Turkic States as an important step. Azerbaijan’s active participation in the process, he said, helps strengthen Turkey’s position and expand Northern Cyprus’s international contacts.
“I believe this mechanism should be developed further. Based on existing realities, steps can be taken to broaden the international relations of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” Mirzabayli said.
However, he acknowledged that formal international recognition of Northern Cyprus remains difficult in the near term. According to the lawmaker, the issue requires a long-term strategy whose outcome will depend on changes in the regional and global political environment.
Mirzabayli argued that previous United Nations initiatives to resolve the Cyprus dispute had failed to produce results. He cited the 2004 peace plan proposed by then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which was supported by a majority of Turkish Cypriots but rejected by Greek Cypriot voters.
Despite the outcome, the Republic of Cyprus, controlled by the Greek Cypriot government, subsequently joined the European Union. Mirzabayli said the decision demonstrated what he described as Brussels’ biased approach and was later used to pressure Turkey and Northern Cyprus.
He added that the main causes of the conflict remain unresolved. Distrust persists between the Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities, property disputes have not been settled, and Turkey and Greece still lack the mutual confidence required for a lasting agreement.
Mirzabayli said Northern Cyprus has functioning state and democratic institutions and has achieved notable progress in tourism and education. In his view, this provides a basis for gradually expanding its international cooperation.
Azerbaijan has not formally recognized Northern Cyprus as an independent state, but it has increased political engagement with the Turkish Cypriot leadership and supported its participation in the Organization of Turkic States. Turkey remains the only country that formally recognizes the territory’s independence.
AZE.US