Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Ankara, today, BNR reported.
His visit is taking place in a tense political situation, with mass protests by Turkish Cypriots against the imposition of political Islam in their community and with demands for a solution to the Cyprus issue.
A central event in the Turkish president's program is the opening ceremony of the new large-scale administrative complex, the construction of which took about three years and was fully financed by Ankara. It covers an area of 640,000 square meters and houses the new buildings of the so-called “president“ and “parliament“ of the self-proclaimed state, a mosque, “Garden of the Nation“ and other facilities.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to announce "good news about new investments" for the Turkish Cypriot community during his visit. The Turkish president is expected to make major announcements on two hot topics. He has already sharply criticized the nearly two months of protests by thousands, the last of which was on Friday night, against the decision of the Ankara-backed government to legalize the wearing of Islamic headscarves in public schools.
On the eve of his visit, Erdogan also announced that Turkey was stepping up its work for a two-state solution on the island. The Cypriot government condemned on Friday "Ankara's continuing separatist agenda."