Ersin Tatar: 'We feel a special closeness to Azerbaijan'

Academic and cultural exchange between Azerbaijan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus can make a significant contribution to further strengthening bilateral relations, President of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar stated in an interview with Baku TV, Report informs.

"Azerbaijan is a brotherly state for Northern Cyprus. As we always say, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are one nation, three states. Therefore, we feel a special closeness to Azerbaijan as a Turkic state, which we ourselves are. During my recent meeting with President Ilham Aliyev, I proposed to develop our cooperation in the fields of tourism and education. In particular, I put forward the initiative to start a student exchange program between our universities. There are many young people in Cyprus who would like to know more about Azerbaijan, and we believe that such an academic and cultural exchange would be mutually enriching," said Tatar.

Ersin Tatar also expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for his continued support for Turkish Cypriots.

"A couple of days ago, he publicly stated in the international press that Azerbaijan fully supports the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on its path to international recognition. He emphasized that Azerbaijan will do everything possible to help us and reaffirmed his confidence in the determination of the Turkish Cypriots. We are deeply grateful for this solidarity," Ersin Tatar said.