LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Tuesday started two days of joint military exercises in Northern Cyprus.

The land phase of the Martyr Ensign Caner Gonyeli-2023 Search and Rescue Invitation Exercise on Tuesday started with the participation of civilian and military elements.

The aim of the exercise is to protect the rights and interests of Türkiye and the TRNC in the Search and Rescue (SAR) area in the Eastern Mediterranean.

It also aims to assist in the official registration and strengthening of the sovereignty of the TRNC, and to draw public attention to the value that is given to search and rescue activities and to SAR region boundaries.

Seven countries – Azerbaijan, Djibouti, Philippines, Kosovo, Qatar, Libya, and Pakistan – are attending the exercise as observers.

The naval part of the exercise will be held on Wednesday in the TRNC’s territorial waters.

Speaking at a press briefing, Maj. Gen. Osman Aytac, the TRNC’s Security Forces commander, said search and rescue activities require professional personnel, good organization, close coordination, and cooperation.

He added that the TRNC search and rescue teams have carried out 112 search and rescue missions since 2002.

"The TRNC is ready to carry out search and rescue operations in all environments, day and night, in territorial waters or international waters, at any time, in unity with elements of its (ancestral) homeland, the Republic of Türkiye," Aytac stressed.

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Türkiye fully supports a two-state solution on the island based on sovereign equality and equal international status between its two states.