TRNC’s project to support Turkish Cypriots abroad

By Inci Gundag

LONDON

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC) foreign minister said that the project "Turkish Cypriots Abroad" aims to support and protect Turkish Cypriots worldwide.

In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency during his visit to London, Kudret Ozersay explained the project was launched by the TRNC Foreign Ministry under the slogan "Homeland is calling you".

"We are making this visit (to London) to share the message and the project with thousands of Cypriot Turks and TRNC nationals living here to strengthen their ties with TRNC and to make their trips to TRNC more frequent, to make their ties closer in every sense and to facilitate the return of our citizens who are planning to,” he said.

Ozersay said that for the first time the government took the issue of the Turkish Cypriots seriously by implementing the project on a ministry level.

He said the project will help obtain the accurate information about Turkish Cypriots abroad such as number of generations abroad, their professions, their gender, presence in politics.

A large number of Turkish Cypriots are living in Turkey and Australia, he noted.

New ideas

Speaking about the Cyprus peace process, Ozersay said both the Turkish and Greek side need to discuss new ideas as “talking about the same things again and again without getting any results is tiring.”

"Everyone is tired of this unfruitful debate and unfruitful process," he said.

"I think it is time to test the sincerity of the international community […]," he added.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island's Turks, and Ankara's intervention as a guarantor power.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including the latest initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the U.K. collapsing in 2017.

Turkey blames Greek Cypriot intransigence for the talks' failure, also faulting the European Union for admitting Cyprus as a divided island