Chronic conflict - 50 years divided: For Cyprus, there is no solution in sight
On the 50th anniversary of the division of Cyprus, the signals from the two island parts could not be more different: While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognized only by Turkey, celebrated the day of Turkish intervention with the deployment of Turkish warships and helicopters, the southern part of the island mourns the day as a day of mourning over the division. A solution to the conflict is not in sight.
Turkey rejects a federal solution in Cyprus, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated in the Turkish-controlled northern part of the divided island: "We believe that a federal solution is not possible." However, this is advocated by both the United Nations and the EU, the Cyprus government in the southern part of the island, and Greece. The Greek Cypriot President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulidis, on the other hand, rejected the repeatedly voiced Turkish demands for a two-state solution.
The events marking the 50th anniversary of the Turkish intervention following a Greek and Greek Cypriot coup were accompanied by a military parade in the north of Cyprus. A fleet of 50 ships, fighter jets, and armed drones from the Turkish mainland participated, according to the state Turkish news agency Anadolu.
Erdogan's statements about his desire for two sovereign states came shortly after a call from Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who instead advocated for a united Cyprus. "It has been half a century since the Cypriot national tragedy. We demand a European state, united, based on UN resolutions. No foreign occupation army," Mitsotakis wrote on the platform X. His visit to Nicosia on Saturday was reportedly very restrained and was not expected to take place until evening, according to Greek government sources.
Erdogan declared that Ankara was "ready to negotiate and create a permanent peace and a solution in Cyprus." He accused the other side of discriminating against Turkish Cypriots, in particular because they were not allowed to participate in the energy resources of the island. The exploitation and division of gas reserves in the eastern Aegean Sea are a constant point of contention between Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus.
The Beginning of the Division
In 1974, nationalist Greek Cypriots and the ruling dictatorship in Athens attempted to unite Cyprus with Greece, which led to a military coup on Cyprus. To prevent the union with Greece, Turkey intervened militarily. The intervention was legally justified because Turkey, along with Greece and Great Britain, was one of the guarantor powers of the island, responsible for ensuring the protection of the democratic constitution. However, Ankara did not withdraw its military after the restoration of democracy on Cyprus.
Since then, the island has been divided. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was proclaimed, which has been recognized worldwide only by Turkey since then. In 2004, the EU admitted Cyprus as a whole to the EU on the insistence of Greece. De jure, the entire island is an EU member, but EU law is only applied in the southern part.
- Despite the celebration of the Turkish intervention anniversary in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the southern part of Cyprus, recognized by the UN and EU, commemorates it as a day of mourning over the division.
- The United Nations and the EU, along with the Cyprus government in the southern part of the island and Greece, advocate for a federal solution in the ongoing conflict in Cyprus.
- A military coup led by nationalist Greek Cypriots and the dictatorship in Athens in 1974 aimed to unite Cyprus with Greece, leading to Turkey's military intervention to prevent it.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Ankara's readiness to negotiate and create a permanent peace and a solution in Cyprus, accusing the other side of discriminating against Turkish Cypriots.
- Ankara's desire for two sovereign states was countered by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' advocacy for a united Cyprus, which he described as a European state in his visit to Nicosia.
- The division of Cyprus since 1974, following Turkey's intervention to prevent its annexation by Greece, has been highly contentious, with disputes over energy resources in the eastern Aegean Sea between Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus.
- In 2004, the EU admitted Cyprus as a whole to the EU on Greece's insistence, but de jure, the entire island is an EU member, with EU law only applicable to the southern part.
