Akar: We await the recognition of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” by our allies

The Turkish Defense Minister expects the recognition of the Turkish Cypriot pseudo-state “by our allies” Hulusi Akar according to an interview he gave to the Cyprus News Agency. His close associate Tayyip Erdogan he said that for many years there has been a problem with the solution of the Cypriot issue, “under normal conditions, in order to join the European Union (he said addressing the Greek Cypriots) you should not have problems with your neighbors. She is not with the neighbors there, she is a problem. Southern Cyprus was admitted to the European Union as a representative of the whole of Cyprus. What is the explanation for this? We are talking about the existence of our brothers there. The Greek Cypriot side does not accept this. Those with these initiatives, activities support the impasse in the solution. These activities serve no purpose other than spoiling the Greek Cypriots and Greece. This is pointless. Third parties must see these objectively. We expect the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (the pseudo-state that is) to be recognized by our friends and allies».

The Turkish Defense Minister also said that “we have problems with Greece. Let us converse in mutual dialogue and peaceful ways. We have ways to increase confidence in this matter. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has done separate work. Our President has met the Secretary General of NATO. It is Greece that left the meeting on these three issues. There are various dimensions. We asked for experts to meet. Talks were held in Greece and Turkey. We waited for the fourth meeting for 2 years. We have no problem with dialogue, we are right, we are strong, we have been waiting for our interlocutors for 2 years. If they tell us that they are coming tomorrow to discuss, they are welcome. We have not lost hope. We are talking to other countries.”

Concerning talks with the US on F-16 fighter jets Mr. Akar said that “our procurement work with our strategic partner, the US, started in June 2021 and is ongoing. They said they support our procurement and modernization efforts. There is an election in the US. We are waiting for the process. We expect positive initiatives from the US. A country like Turkey should be strong in air force. F-16s are not the only solution.”