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The list of global territorial disputes is vast, with there being over 150 locations that are highly contested. None perhaps show off a fiercer rivalry than Cyprus, a Greek-Turkish battleground. Cyprus is a highly complex issue characterised by the existence of two distinct peoples on an island – the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots. This offers a unique situation that unfortunately has warranted a United Nation’s peacekeeping operation, a testament to the great sense of nationalism that both sides feel.
Historical context is fundamental in understanding the Cyprus problem. One fact to keep in mind throughout is that Cyprus has never been a Greek island. The Ottoman Empire controlled Cyprus from 1571 until 1878, and the country witnessed a succession of leaders during this time who all ruled the island as part of the Ottoman Empire, and none of whom were the Greeks. In 1878 Cyprus became a British protectorate via the Cyprus Convention, a secret agreement between the British and the Ottomans that granted administrative control of Cyprus to Britain. In 1914 Cyprus was unilaterally annexed by Great Britain and officially made a crown colony in 1925. Cyprus then officially became independent of Britain in 1960, becoming the Republic of Cyprus. It was in the period of 1925-1960 that Greek interest in Cyprus grew.
In the early 1950’s, the majority Greek Cypriot population began demanding an Enosis, or union with Greece. When this was denied in 1954 by Britain, Colonel George Grivas’ EOKA (National Organization of Cypriot Fighters) began a guerilla campaign aimed at driving out the British. A state of emergency was declared in Cyprus in 1955 following a series of terrorist attacks and anti-British riots. This emergency came to be known as the Cypriot War of Independence which lasted 4 years until 1959. The EOKA’s efforts paid off and although the British retained two sovereign bases, Cyprus achieved independence in 1960 as a result of the London-Zürich Agreement.
The Turkish Cypriots’ discontent with this agreement subsequently led to the 1963-1964 crisis that saw intense violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and resulted in a UN peacekeeping mission. Roughly 25,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced into enclaves and their representation was consequently destroyed. An coup d’état was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists in 1974 in a failed attempt to bring Cyprus into Greece, but an invasion by Turkey later that year led to the capture of the present-day territory in Northern Cyprus. A separate administrative state was set up and thus the island was carved in two. Attempts have been made to find a solution but none have achieved any major breakthroughs and a two-state solution was rejected in 1983 as was a UN power-sharing deal in 2004.
With Cyprus’ history on board, let’s now observe the situation is has created in the 21st century. Energy has been a hot topic. Recently, the Greek government of the Republic of Cyprus has taken decisions on hydro-carbon initiatives, signing deals with multinational companies like Shell and Qatar Petroleum and creating major tensions between Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots. Furthermore, 2019 saw a deal signed that would build a gas pipeline linking the Israeli Leviathan and Cypriot Aphrodite gas fields which would bypass Turkey. These actions have caused much anger in Ankara, and the capital responded by intruding on the Greek Cypriots exclusive economic zone where their gas fields lie, as well as threatening to mobilize their navy against them. These actions originate from the Turkish view that the Turkish Cypriots should have the right to undertake energy exploration activities too.
In 2021, after a meeting with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and then President Nicos Anastasiades, Ersin Tatar (Leader of the Turkish Cypriots) stated that the future of Cyprus would not be discussed until they took into consideration ‘the sovereign equality and international status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,’ which is only internationally recognized by Turkey itself. Tatar’s words here are clearly rooted in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus that created the present-day division.
In 2023, the story has not changed. A security council report has concluded there has not been any meaningful progress or formal engagement between Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders on the topic of unifications talks. Recently elected Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides desires a settlement based on bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, whereas Ersin Tatar desires a two-state solution based on sovereign equality. This stalemate has doomed this controversial island to a future stuck in the long-standing rivalry between Greece and Cyprus.
Image: An Honest Flag of Cyprus, by Fjana // CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
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