Minister Ertuğruloğlu: “Take concrete steps to end the unjust isolation imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu addressed the Annual Coordination Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in New York on 24 September 2026. The statement delivered by the Minister Ertuğruloğlu is as follows:

“It is a privilege for me to address this Annual Coordination Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. I extend to you all the heartfelt greetings of the Turkish Cypriot people and the government of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

As we convene here today, many regions across the world continue to struggle with the devastating consequences of wars and armed conflicts.

You will all recall that the Turkish Cypriot people endured systemic persecution and isolation in besieged enclaves under harsh and inhumane conditions for more than a decade during 1963-1974. In 1974, Türkiye’s timely intervention following a coup d’etat by Greece and Greek Cypriots, saved the lives of the Turkish Cypriots.

Today, unfortunately, similar aggression towards our brothers and sisters in Palestine continues. Israel’s ongoing aggression against the Palestinian people, which amount to genocide and war crimes, stand in blatant violation of international law and the core principles of the United Nations charter.

As regards the Cyprus issue, more than five decades of negotiations failed to yield a positive outcome. It is high time to free the search for an agreement from the relics of the past and embark on a new paradigm in the light of the realities on the ground and the experiences of the failed processes in the past.

The new vision of the TRNC is in line with the current realities on the island; that is the existence of two separate states, each exercising sovereignty over their own territories and two peoples with two different nationalities, languages and religions that have been co-existing on the island.

In light of this reality, the only realistic and sustainable agreement on the Cyprus issue is the neighbourly relations of the two states based on sovereign equality and equal international status.

With the unwavering support of our motherland, the Republic of Türkiye, we have worked tirelessly to counter the effects of this inhumane and illegal isolation imposed on our people. We are kindly requesting the member states of the OIC to expeditiously take concrete steps to end the unjust isolation imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people and develop closer relations with us.

In this respect, I would like to express the deepest gratitude of the Turkish Cypriot people to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of the Republic of Türkiye, for his consecutive speeches since the 77^th General Assembly openly calling upon member states of the United Nations to recognize the independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and to establısh diplomatic, political and economic ties with our country.

I take this opportunity to reiterate, once again, our call to the member states of the OIC, to lead the way in supporting the rightful and legitimate cause of the Turkish Cypriot people and to further strengthen their bonds with them in all fields. The solidarity and support of the brotherly oic member states are of utmost importance for us in our struggle to live in peace, security and dignity in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, free from oppression and atrocities perpetrated against the Turkish Cypriot people in the past.”