Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to call on the...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan used his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to call on the international community to formally recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and establish political, diplomatic, and economic ties with it. Speaking from the UN podium in New York, Erdogan said the "inhumane isolation" imposed on Turkish Cypriots must end, and that their sovereignty and equal international status must be guaranteed. He repeated the call, which he said he has made at previous UN General Assemblies, framing the lack of recognition as a matter of justice for the Turkish Cypriot people. On the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, Erdogan said Turkey wants existing disputes resolved "on the basis of good neighborly relations and in accordance with international law." He again floated Turkey's proposal for an Eastern Mediterranean Conference, calling it a platform to establish common ground. Erdogan also pushed back against any suggestion that Turkey should be excluded from European security architecture, saying a Europe that leaves Turkey out "cannot be stronger or safer." He described Turkey as "an island of stability" in a region of conflict and said Ankara is building its future alongside the EU. On Gaza, he called on world leaders to pressure Israel into beginning reconstruction without delay, referencing an agreement signed at Sharm el-Sheikh a year ago. He said efforts to strangle Palestinian statehood would ultimately fail and expressed hope for an independent Palestinian state along 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. Erdogan also noted that a Turkey-Africa Summit is scheduled for December in Libya, and referenced ongoing coordination with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on regional issues. #Erdogan #Cyprus #UnitedNations