Erdogan urges to lift unfair restrictions from TRNC

Ankara, The Gulf Observer: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the lifting of political restrictions that have been unfairly imposed on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Citing the late architect of the 2004 Annan plan, which was accepted by Turkish Cypriots but rejected by Greek Cypriots, with no fallout for the Greek Cypriot side, Erdogan said: “I invite the international community to heed the call of then-(UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who admitted that there is no UN Security Council resolution that could justify the isolation of our Turkish Cypriot brothers, to remove these completely political restrictions, lacking any legal basis.”

Inaugurating a newly renovated and expanded Ercan Airport in the TRNC, Erdogan also reiterated his call on the international community to support the ideal of two equal states living side by side on Cyprus, rejecting the culture of domination, tension, and conflict on the island.

The days when Ercan International Airport’s new terminal and runway will be full of international flights “are not far away,” said the Turkish president.

“The new terminal is six times larger than the previous one, meaning it is now capable of serving 10 million passengers,” he said, adding that Ercan Airport also has the largest passenger capacity of any airport on the Eastern Mediterranean island.