Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar visited Turkey’s Black Sea coast unannounced, meeting with businessmen and officials to attract investment to the occupied north.
Tatar held closed-door talks with business representatives and veterans in Zonguldak, according to Turkish media reports. The meeting was attended by local business leaders and delegates from Cyprus.
During his address, Tatar reportedly highlighted Zonguldak’s expertise in energy, mining, and maritime activities, suggesting that these could benefit the occupied north.
“I would like to mention how valuable it is to develop the capabilities and relationships between us, the heart ties, the cultural unity, the political kinship, and the work we are doing to further strengthen the independent Turkish state in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Tatar was quoted as saying.
The low-profile nature of the trip raised eyebrows in the occupied north, with local media noting the unusual lack of publicity.
“While the public was informed by a statement from the ‘presidency’ before each visit and before his departure from the ‘TRNC’, it is strange that the ‘presidency’ did not make an official statement regarding Tatar’s visit to Zonguldak,” reported Kıbrıs Postası.
Tatar also visited the nearby city of Bartin, where he met families of Turkish soldiers killed in 1974. There, Tatar said, “the motherland Turkey has always been the voice of the oppressed in Africa, Gaza, in various countries, and in the ‘TRNC’.”
He further claimed that “the TRNC has become even more important in light of the geostrategic and geopolitical developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.” He added that “together with Turkey, the TRNC has reached a very important point in the Eastern Mediterranean, both at sea and in the sky, for national unity, national interests, and the interests of us all.”
