Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz held a series of closed-door meetings with ‘ministers’ in the north during his visit to the north on Saturday, according to reports in the Turkish Cypriot press.

The meetings, each lasting approximately 15 minutes, were held at the Turkish ‘embassy’ in northern Nicosia following the conclusion of Yilmaz’s official programme.

According to Yeni Duzen, Yilmaz held one-on-one discussions with several ‘ministers’ of the ruling coalition in the north. The meetings were reportedly informal and outside the framework of scheduled engagements.

Among those seen arriving were the ‘minister of economy and energy’ Olgun Amcaoglu, ‘finance minister’ Ozdemir Berova, and ‘transport minister’ Erhan Arikli.

The newspaper also reported that some officials arrived in government vehicles with their official licence plates replaced by private ones, possibly in an effort to maintain discretion. However, the identities of those individuals could not be verified.

The visit by Yilmaz is viewed as another demonstration of Ankara’s continued involvement in the affairs of the north.