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Cyprus

Cyprus has been an island divided since 1974. In that year, Turkish troops occupied the north following a Greek-backed coup that aimed to attach the island to Greece. In 1983, a splinter Turkish Republic of Cyprus declared itself in the north, but that government remains unrecognized by any country except Turkey. Successive UN resolutions have called upon Turkey to withdraw its soldiers. Meanwhile, the Greek-led Republic of Cyprus, the internationally recognized government of the entire island, joined the European Union in May 2005.

For 22 years, Rauf Denktaş, a staunch Turkish nationalist opposed to reunification, led the Turkish Republic in close alliance with powerful backers in Turkey. But Denktaş steadily lost his grip as Turkish Cypriots chafed at what they increasingly viewed as Turkish occupation. Turkish Cypriot anger at Turkey dissipated as the Turkish government that came to power in 2002 signaled unprecedented flexibility on the Cyprus question.

In 2004, the UN sponsored a referendum on reunification of the island. The proposed plan would have established a federation of two autonomous regions roughly demarcated by the current ceasefire line. It would also have created mechanisms for restitution of property lost at the island's division. Turkish Cypriots voted in favor, but Greek Cypriots, urged by the hardline president of the Republic, voted no in numbers more than sufficient to defeat the measure. The result has led to nationalist retrenchment on both sides of the ceasefire line, though in 2005 Turkish Cypriots elected as president a man who had campaigned for reunification.

As part of its own EU accession negotiations, Turkey is under European pressure to establish commercial ties with the Republic of Cyprus and, ultimately, accord the Greek-led government diplomatic recognition. But absent a political solution on the island, which does not seem imminent, the Cyprus issue is likely to bedevil Turkey's European aspirations.


Facts and Figures »