Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan again raised the Cyprus issue during his speech at the 41st session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC), framing it as a matter of sovereignty and “historical justice” for Turkish Cypriots.
“Today, among us are our brothers from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” he said. “I welcome them with all my heart. The Turkish Cypriot people are an inseparable part of the Islamic world.”
Erdogan warned that Cyprus was becoming part of what he described as “a new imperialist game” in the Eastern Mediterranean. “We are receiving strong signals that the island of Cyprus is being added to the menu of this new imperialist game unfolding in our region,” he said- a statement widely interpreted as criticism of US and regional energy plans that leave Turkey out.
Reaffirming the two-state position
When mentioning Cyprus in his speech, Erdogan reiterated that the Turkish Cypriots form a political entity with “sovereign rights,” effectively rejecting prospects for a federal solution.
“For decades they have faced unjust, illegal and baseless isolation,” he said. “Yet despite these pressures, our Turkish Cypriot brothers have never abandoned their will to live with dignity in their own homeland. They have never given up their sovereign equality.”
Analysts noted that the remarks continue Ankara’s strategy of seeking wider Muslim-world backing for political recognition of the north, while undermining United Nations reunification talks.
Call for Islamic solidarity
Erdogan ended his address with a call for stronger Islamic-world support for Turkish Cypriots and renewed Turkey’s role as guarantor power.
“I consider it very important that we further strengthen our organisation’s solidarity with the Turkish Cypriot people,” he said. “I expect you to stand even more firmly behind their struggle for rights, freedom and justice on the basis of a two-state solution. As the motherland and guarantor, Turkey will never leave the Turkish Cypriot people alone in their just cause.”
Erdogan’s speech on Cyprus reinforces Ankara’s rejection of reunification within a single Cypriot state and reflects Turkey’s broader push to expand its diplomatic influence within the Islamic world.
“Kıbrıs Türk halkı İslam dünyasının ayrılmaz parçası”
— TRT Haber Canlı (@trthabercanli) November 3, 2025
Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan: Teşkilatımızın Kıbrıs Türk halkıyla dayanışmasını daha da artırmasını çok önemli görüyorum. Kıbrıs Türklerinin iki devletli çözüm temelinde yürüttükleri mücadeleye daha fazla omuz vermenizi bekliyorum. pic.twitter.com/PPZB9M3LQs
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