Ministry making demarches over Azeri president’s meeting with Tatar

The foreign ministry on Thursday voiced “disappointment and dissatisfaction” over a recent meeting between the president of Azerbaijan and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, and that Tatar was referred to as ‘president’ of the ‘Turkish Republic of  Northern Cyprus’.

This action is contrary to the letter and spirit of the UN security council’s resolutions on Cyprus condemning the unilateral declaration of independence of the “TRNC” pseudostate and recognising the Republic of Cyprus as the only state in Cyprus, the ministry said.

In addition, with this specific reference, the Azeri side ignores the institutional framework of EU’s operations, with which it seeks to enter into an institutional relationship via the signing of a partnership agreement for which the consent of the Republic of Cyprus is also required, it added.

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has already given instructions for demarches to be made on multiple levels to convey disappointment and dissatisfaction over this development and seek its correction, the announcement concluded.

Azerbaijan president Ilham Aliyev and Tatar posed for pictures at a meeting earlier this week in Konya in central Turkey for the opening of the Islamic Games.