NICOSIA, August 11. /TASS/. Ersin Tatar, leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, has called for developing political and commercial relations with Russia.

Tatar is President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is recognized only by Ankara.

"I hope that the TRNC leadership will promote further development of human, political, and commercial relations between Northern Cyprus and Russia," the Kibris Postasi daily quoted him as saying.

The Russian embassy in Cyprus said earlier that it begins to offer consular services in the northern part of the island. Russian Ambassador Murak Zyazikov told TASS that this decision "has been ripe for quite a long time and has no political motives underlying it." According to the Russian diplomat, this decision is explained "by humanitarian considerations only."

According some estimates, more than 50,000 Russians are living in northern Cyprus.

"Russian Ambassador to Nicosia Mural Zyazikov and a number of Russian officials said that Russia will soon begin to provide consular services in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This approach, which makes it possible to view the foreign policy from the humanitarian point of view, is a present-day manifestation of mutually beneficial understanding and diplomacy," Tatar said. "Bearing in mind the growing Russian diaspora in the TRNC, I support Russia’s decision to open a consulate in the northern part of the island."

The TRNC authorities described this step as logical, since there is an objective necessity to offer services to the Russian living in the norther part of the island. However, the opening of an office in the TRNC doesn’t mean the Russia recognizes this republic. According to a Cypriot foreign ministry spokesperson, the republic "has been conducting and is conducting consultations with Russia to find ways of resolving the problem in a way that would be in conformity with international law and the United Nations Security Council resolutions.".