Why Cyprus is divided into 2 parts. Cyprus problem. Regulation of labor relations in small business organizations

Key words: Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Republic of Cyprus, attitude of other countries to the Cyprus problem.

Key words: Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Republic of Cyprus, the relation of other countries to the Cyprian problem.

The article is devoted to the study of the Cyprus problem, which consists in the division of the island of Cyprus into 2 states, one of which is recognized by the world community, and the other is not. As well as trying to solve the problem.

Article is studying studying of the Cyprian problem which consists of division of island Cyprus into 2 states, one of which is recognized the world community, and another is not present. And also to the questions to attempts of a solution of a problem.

The Cypriot problem lies in the division of the island of Cyprus into 2 states, one of which is recognized by the world community, and the other is not. As well as issues related to the division of the island, attempts to solve the problem and the attitude of the world community to this issue.

First, let's look at the history of the issue, then we will present Cyprus as 2 separately existing states, then we will talk about attempts to resolve the Cyprus problem by the world community and then we will outline the positions of different countries on this issue.

And so, the history of the Cyprus issue begins in 1960, with the creation of the Republic of Cyprus. It was created after the independence of Cyprus from Great Britain. The Greek and Turkish communities were given equal opportunities to participate in the management of the new state. They were given places in the government and civil institutions of power. The guarantors of the existence of the new state in accordance with the 1960 Treaty on Guarantees were Great Britain, Greece and Turkey.

In December 1963 The Cypriot government collapsed. A conflict began between the Greeks and the Turkish Cypriots. Turkish Cypriots lost government posts. With the continuation of the conflict, Turkish Cypriots living in rural areas were blocked by the Greeks in places of compact residence. This situation lasted 11 years, until the division of the island. During this period, numerous conflicts took place between the communities.

In July 1974, with the support of the Greek military junta, a military coup took place on the island. President Makarios was removed from power, and control of the island passed to Nikos Sampson, a representative of the Greek underground organization EOKA-B (which advocated the annexation of Cyprus to Greece). As a response, in accordance with the 1960 Treaty, Turkish troops were introduced into Cyprus. In fact, the forceful action led to the division of the island, the fall of the Greek military junta and the restoration of Archbishop Makarios to power. The island of Cyprus as a result was divided into the North, controlled by the Turkish Cypriots, and the South, controlled by the Greek Cypriots.

Under the terms of the peace agreement, the creation of a federal republic was supposed, and in 1975. the Turkish Federative State of Northern Cyprus was proclaimed, formally as part of the federation, but with the reservations that the federation should be reviewed and its constitution brought into line with the de facto situation. This idea did not find support either from the Republic of Cyprus or from the international community. After 8 years of negotiations with the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Federative State of Northern Cyprus declared its independence in 1983. The new state became known as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The declaration of independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, however, was rejected by the UN. Thus, 2 independent states were formed on the island. The TRNC is separated from the rest of Cyprus by a buffer zone. The line dividing the island into two sectors (the so-called "Green Line") is guarded by a contingent of the UN Peacekeeping Forces in Cyprus. What are these states today?

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - partially recognized in 1983. a state from the Republic of Cyprus, occupying the northern third of the island of Cyprus. From 1975 to 1983 it was called Turkish Federal State of Cyprus. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is not officially recognized by UN member states and is recognized only by Turkey. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus continues to be the only internationally recognized authority in Cyprus. The official language is Turkish. The capital is Lefkosa (Nicosia in Greek). The form of government is a representative democracy. The President is Dervis Eroglu. Prime Minister Irsen Kyuchuk. Currency - Turkish lira.

The Republic of Cyprus is an island state in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Date of Independence - 16 August 1960 (from Great Britain). The capital is Nicosia. The form of government is the Republic. President - Dimitris Christofias. Currency – Euro. Member (since May 1, 2004) of the European Union (EU). Officially, the territory of the Republic of Cyprus includes 98% of the territory of the island of Cyprus (the remaining 2% is occupied by the British military bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia), as well as the nearby islands of Agios Georgios, Geronissos, Glukiotissa, Kila, Kiedes, Kordiliya and Mazaki. In fact, after 1974, the island was actually divided into two parts, 60% is controlled by the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus (Greek community), the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (Turkish community) was proclaimed on the rest. It should be emphasized that the TRNC is recognized as an independent state only by Turkey; the world community considers this territory occupied by Turkey.

Thus, each state considers itself a legitimate subject of international relations, has its own legislative framework, president, currency, and the rest.

Of course, throughout this conflict, various attempts at reconciliation and the search for a common solution were used. Negotiations on the unification of the island have also been going on for a long time, but have not yet borne fruit. One of the latest attempts failed in a referendum that was held on the island under the auspices of the UN on April 26, 2004. 75% of the Greek Cypriots voted against the unification, in contrast to the Turkish Cypriots, most of whom supported the unification based on a plan proposed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan . This project actually provided for the creation of a confederal republic, consisting of two equal states - Turkish and Greek, with an independent parliament and a bicameral legislative assembly. Moreover, Turkey received the right to maintain its military contingent on the island, and it was also provided for the legal force of the agreements signed between the TRNC and Turkey, which allowed both parties to use the entire sea and air space of the island. The Turkish side would receive the right of veto in the united government of Cyprus. At the same time, all state structures of the united Cyprus were to be financed by the Greek side by 95%. The rights of the Greeks to operate property in the northern part of the island were limited until the standard of living of the two communities was equal. However, as already mentioned, the Greek population of Cyprus rejected the Annan plan with 76% of the votes, while the Turkish part voted 67% in favor.

Prior to this referendum, however, the application of Cyprus to join the EU was granted at the end of 2002. (Member since May 1, 2004) northern part of the island is still unresolved. At the present stage, the "Cyprus issue" is considered as one of the main obstacles for Turkey's entry into the European Union. That is, we see that there is a problem of the entry of the whole of Cyprus into the EU and a different economic level of 2 parts of the island.

With the visit to Cyprus in February 2010 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, confidence in finding a solution to the problem as early as 2010 increased. The visit follows the final stage of intense meetings between the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Mehmet Ali Talat, and the Leader of Greek Cyprus, Dimitris Christofias. The Secretary General stimulated and noticed progress in the negotiations. It should be noted that this was Ban Ki-moon's first visit to the island. The UN supports negotiations between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, but is not a party to them. In general, the UN has been involved in the Cyprus settlement process since 1964, and since 1974 the island has been de facto divided by the Turkish military invasion. "I am glad that significant progress has been made in discussing a number of topics," the UN Secretary General told reporters after arriving on the island. According to Ban Ki-moon, he expects that his presence will support the negotiations, and community leaders will work to reach a compromise. Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias, at an official dinner in Nicosia, assured Ban Ki-moon that he would seek the implementation of UN resolutions on the settlement. "We are grateful to the UN Security Council for laying the foundations for a two-zone, two-communal federal solution, guided by the principles of international law, with political equality, common sovereignty, common international representation and citizenship," Christofias said. to the point where more agreement is needed on various aspects in order to open the way for a speedy solution," the President of Cyprus added. At the same time, he acknowledged that so far many issues have not yet been discussed or discussed insufficiently. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon believes that a political solution to the problem of the unification of Cyprus is achievable. "I have no illusions about the ease of solving the Cyprus problem or about the difficulties you face. At the same time, I am sure that a solution is possible and achievable," he told reporters. According to the UN Secretary General, reaching an agreement requires "courage, flexibility, foresight, as well as a spirit of compromise" from the parties. At that time, the president of northern Cyprus also expresses his willingness and desire to seek a compromise and refers to the Annanan plan.

Thus, it is clear that the dialogue between southern and northern Cyprus is being established with their own desire and with the help of the UN. And maybe with the assistance of the EU. After all, if Southern Cyprus joined the EU, then the Northern one has a greater interest in uniting Cyprus and forming a single economic space. What can not be said about Cyprus now, after the entry of one of the parts into the EU (different economic level).

How do other countries react to the division of Cyprus? Turkey keeps its embassy on the territory of the TRNC, the TRNC in Turkey has an embassy and consulates. In a number of other countries there are unofficial representative offices of the TRNC, which are de facto embassies. The residences of the US and British ambassadors are located in North Nicosia, but since they were there before the division of the island, this is not recognition of the TRNC. Azerbaijan, Gambia and Paraguay have announced their intention to recognize the TRNC. Despite the fact that no official contacts have been established, informal contacts are maintained. Most countries of the world, with the exception of Turkey, do not officially recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as an independent state. The Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, which is part of Azerbaijan, also recognized the TRNC. However, Azerbaijan itself did not officially support this decision. The Organization of the Islamic Conference granted TRNC the status of a part of a federal state and an observer.

As for Russia, it has clearly defined its position for a long time - it is necessary to reunite the island. But in the current situation, it recognizes, as well as almost the entire world community, and conducts a dialogue with southern Cyprus, which is shown by the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Cyprus on October 7-8 this year and the signing of a new version of the interstate agreement on avoiding double taxation. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev paid a working visit to the Republic of Cyprus for the first time. During the visit, the leaders of the two countries signed 15 documents, including the "Joint Program of Action for 2010-2013". This program will become the fundamental document of bilateral relations. A protocol was also initialed to the current agreement between the governments of the Russian Federation and Cyprus, which will help avoid double taxation on income and capital of companies in the two countries. Cyprus undertakes to respond to requests from the Russian tax authorities about the financial activities of certain companies. Previously, Russia could obtain such information only by decision of the Cypriot court. "We must do everything to ensure that such ties are legally verified, transparent, so that they are comfortable both for business and for the state," Dmitry Medvedev said after signing the documents. Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias affirmed the desire for transparency: "We are concerned that everything that casts a shadow on the purity of money is destroyed. Our relations are now as pure as the skies over Cyprus are clear throughout the year." The branch in Nicosia became the first retail office of a Russian bank in an EU country, the third largest bank in Cyprus and the largest foreign bank in the VTB Group with assets of 8 billion euros. (A branch of the Russian Commercial Bank is a subsidiary of the Russian VTB Bank.) Russia has always consistently supported the Republic of Cyprus on the path to solving the Cyprus problem. Russian leaders have repeatedly voiced the position of the country - the solution of the Cyprus problem should be based on the creation of a two-communal bi-zonal federation with political equality of both communities, as noted in the relevant UN documents. Cyprus should act as a sovereign state, where all citizens are citizens of one country, which is represented in the international community as a single and indivisible whole. It is very important for us to know that Russia supports our position on this issue. The fact that the Russian Federation is a member of the UN Security Council also plays an important role, so we believe that it can play an important role in resolving the Cyprus problem. Dervis Eroglu also expresses the need to solve the problem: “Peace negotiations have been going on for years, and I believe that the time has come to an end. Unfortunately, the Greek side of Cyprus is recognized by the international community and is a member of the European Community, while the Turkish side is under an embargo. Perhaps it is in their interests to play for time, but not in ours ”when meeting with Ban Ki-moon.

Thus, the Cyprus problem is the division of the island, the religious division, economic, political, national. The Republic of Cyprus is a member of the EU, but northern Cyprus is not, Northern is not recognized, and Southern is recognized, everything is complicated by the fact that these two peoples are already accustomed to living sovereignly and no one wants to give up their territory, rights, sovereignty. There are several options for solving the problem, but the most possible is a confederation, 2 fairly separate states, but still united. And maybe after a while, they will ripen for a new association (maybe a federation) and integration. ____________________________________________

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In the very middle of summer, exactly 35 years have passed since the official start of the Cyprus conflict: on July 15, 1974, officers of the Greek military junta organized a military coup on the island of Aphrodite and overthrew the then president of the country, Archbishop Makarios. Turkey immediately felt that things were moving towards the annexation of the island to Greece, and already on July 20 landed its 40,000th army contingent on its northern part. The island split into Turkish and Greek parts and continues to be split to this day.

Cyprus is a paradox and a "headache" of the European Union, where it was admitted in 2004, and NATO, where it is not a member. Its capital Nicosia remains the only divided city in the world. Previously, there were five of them: in addition to Nicosia - Berlin, Jerusalem, Beirut and Belfast. Berlin went to the destruction of the wall for exactly 42 years. There are hopes that Cyprus will need a little less for this. Brussels and the UN hope that agreements on the creation of balanced Greek and Turkish federations on the island and the formation of a federal state will be reached this fall or next spring. There are prerequisites for this, but this has already happened in Cyprus: there were prerequisites, but everything fell apart at the very last moment.

However, now the situation is somewhat different. The new president of Cyprus, Dimitris Christofias, elected in the spring of 2008, immediately kept his main election promise - immediately after the election, to return to the "marriage contract" with the Turkish half of the island: less than a month after the election, he already met with the leader of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic Northern Cyprus Mehmet Ali Talat. The last round of negotiations on a Cyprus settlement took place in early July of this year.

But there are too many problems in Cyprus to be able to immediately hope that the signatures of the two politicians will immediately return peace and tranquility to the island. Today it is already divided territorially, nationally and on the basis of faith.

At present, there is the Republic of Cyprus proper (approximately 60% of the territory and 770 thousand of the population) and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (approximately 38% of the island and about 300 thousand of the population). Another 2% of Cyprus is made up of British exclaves, where British military bases are located. The Republic of Cyprus is recognized by almost everyone, with the exception of Turkey. Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey. Unless, of course, we do not consider the anecdotal "official recognition" of the TRNC by the Azerbaijani Autonomous Region of Nakhichevan.

It must be said that since our Russian Slavic sympathies have always gravitated towards Greece, we have usually been inclined to blame all Cypriot troubles exclusively on the unhealthy genes of Ottoman Turkey. Although this is not entirely true. The Turks brought their troops to the island on completely legal grounds, in accordance with the Treaty of 1960 (the year the island gained independence from Britain) on guarantees for the existence of an independent Cyprus between Britain, Greece and Turkey. It gave the right to protection of representatives of the communities living on the island. Moreover, if they had not done this, then President Makarios might not have returned to power in a few months and not have been president until 1977.

In fact, the Cyprus crisis began to emerge in the second half of the 50s and almost reached the civil war in the very beginning of the 60s, after independence. Then the Greek majority began to carry out what is now commonly called soft genocide against the Turkish minority. They simply tried to squeeze them out of the island. Makarios, by the way, was a supporter of the so-called enosis - from the Greek union, unity - the reunification of the island with mother Greece. Incidentally, neither the USSR nor Russia has ever supported such a reunification.

The whole trouble is that the island of Aphrodite was cut into two unequal parts for too long. Even if a political agreement is reached, it will by no means be a complete solution to the problem. Especially when you consider what exactly is preventing you from "gluing the island together" now. They are trying to make a two-zone, two-communal federation of Turks and Greek Cypriots out of it. No one seems to argue with the federal structure. Moreover, it seems that there is already an agreement on the division of power between the communities. But if only that were the case.

The chronic causes of the "Cyprus disease" are much deeper. So far, the problem of the return of the Greek Cypriots to their homes and lands, from where they were expelled by the Turks, has not been resolved in any way (not even moved forward). The issue of compensation for the confiscated property has not been resolved. It is not clear what to do with the Turkish settlers from Anatolia. Indeed, after the invasion of 1974, more than 100 thousand people were resettled to the island from Turkey in order to strengthen the "Turkish component". In general, there are a lot of problems on the way to reunification.

But there are also incentives to do so. According to the calculations of the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, a united Cyprus can get additional income from opening direct trade with Turkey (the south does not trade with Anatolia) and with the EU (northern Cyprus still cannot sell its goods to the European Union) by about 2 .8 billion dollars a year.

The new president, Dimitris Christofias, by the way, speaks Russian almost the same as his native Greek. In Soviet times, in the very late 60s - early 70s, Christofias graduated from the Institute of Social Sciences, and then postgraduate studies at the Academy of Social Sciences in Moscow. He knows and loves Russian history and culture very well. Although Christofias has been the permanent secretary general of the allegedly communist AKEL, the Progressive Party of the Working People of Cyprus, since 1988, in fact, nothing communist has remained in it for a long time. AKEL now owns several large commercial and industrial companies of the island, including one very solid investment firm. Dimitris himself prefers to call himself a left-wing social democrat or a progressive socialist. He also hopes very much that already this year he will again be able to safely travel to the homeland of his ancestors, to the village of Dimko in the north of the island, which is still occupied by Turkish troops. True, for this it is still necessary to arrange a not quite equal marriage between the Greek Kupros and the Turkish Kibris.

July 1974: how it all happened

Formed during the Ottoman Empire, the two communities in Cyprus at the beginning of their existence did not conflict with each other. There was a significant number of intercommunal marriages on the island, the population converted to Islam and Orthodoxy relatively easily. And yet, alas! For 400 years, they have not become a single people. The reason for this, first of all, was religious differences, the system of "millets". According to it, each community enjoyed separate rights in the field of self-government, education, courts, etc.

It was then that the idea of ​​creating an independent Greek state on the lands of the Ottoman Empire inhabited by Greeks first arose among Greek intellectuals. It was called "enosis".

RECENT PAST

When, in 1960, Great Britain, the last metropolis of the island, granted independence to Cyprus, it found itself in a similar situation, using not at all advanced Ottoman experience. Adopted on the basis of the Zurich-London agreements signed by Great Britain, Greece and Turkey, the Constitution of the new state legitimized the existence of two self-governing communities - with ethnic quotas for filling positions in the state apparatus, army, police, etc. The balance of power, established according to the Lebanese model, was maintained by the guarantor powers.

Despite good intentions, the extremists of each side stuck to their national idea. The Greeks were supporters of the same "enosis", and the Turks put forward in response the doctrine of "taksim" - the division of the island between Greece and Turkey.

The newly formed state lived peacefully for a very short time. Outbreaks of interethnic strife began already at the very beginning of the 1960s, and the situation on the island remained quite tense. The growing tension led to the formation of ethnic armed formations, which actually fell under the control of Greece and Turkey, respectively.

CHRONICLE OF OPPOSITION

First wave

November 1963 The President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III, proposed a series of amendments designed to restore the constitution to work. They were completely rejected by the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Vice President Dr. Kuchuk. Turkish Cypriots refused to participate in any government.

On December 21, 1963, Turkish Cypriots clashed with the police in the Turkish quarter of Nicosia. Kuchuk comes up with a proposal to divide the island along the 35th parallel.

On February 15, 1964, Great Britain raised the issue of Cyprus at the UN Security Council, and on the same day, Archbishop Makarios III informed the Security Council of the clear preparation of the Turkish troops for an invasion.

On March 4, 1964, the UN Security Council adopts resolution No. 186, according to which UN peacekeeping forces arrived on the island. They remain here to this day.

Second wave

Spring 1974. A new outbreak of terror and violence in Cyprus. By that time, there were about 650 Greek officers at the command posts of the National Guard, coordinating their actions with the EOKA-2 organization, known for its extremism and anti-Turkish activity. Funded by the Greek "black colonels" EOKA-2 repeatedly tried to remove President Archbishop Makarios III.

July 2, 1974 The Cypriot government demanded that Greece withdraw its officers from the island. In response to this…

On July 15, 1974, a mutiny broke out and a civil war began. Archbishop Makarios III was removed from power, and control of the island passed to a group of radicals led by Nikos Sampson, a representative of E * KA-2. The main forces of the conspirators were the National Guard of 11 thousand people, commanded by Greek officers. In addition, on the side of the rebels were: the Greek regiment stationed on the island, several units deployed from Greece by transport aircraft the day before, as well as the EOKA-2 terrorist groups. Bloody battles began with security forces loyal to the Government, police and volunteer detachments. The rebels seized the airport, the radio station, the Presidential Palace and a number of other government offices in Nicosia.

On July 20, 1974, Operation Atilla began. Under the pretext of the impossibility of a peaceful settlement of the conflict and the protection of the Turkish community, the Turkish government sent its troops to Cyprus. The occupation began with an amphibious landing at dawn on July 20, 5-7 km west of Kerinia. At the same time, airborne assault forces were dropped south of Kerinia and at Nicosia Airport. The Turkish Navy blocked the ports of Limassol and Paphos and prevented the transfer of Greek troops by sea.

On July 21, 1974, a naval battle took place between the Turkish and Greek navies in the Paphos region, during which the Greek fleet suffered heavy losses. During tense bloody battles, Turkish troops captured Kerinia, Nicosia airport and established control over the road between the capital and the seaport.

On July 22, 1974, in accordance with UN Resolution No. 353, a provision for a temporary ceasefire came into force. At the same time, negotiations were underway in Geneva between Great Britain, Greece and Turkey with the participation of the USSR and the USA. However, this attempt to resolve the Cyprus issue within the framework of NATO failed due to the demands of the Turkish side to allocate 34% of the island's territory for the creation of the Turkish Cypriot state.

On August 14, 1974, fighting resumed. Two days later, Turkish troops reached the border between Cyprus (the Attila line) proposed earlier by the Turkish government and established control over the ports of Famagusta, Bogaz, Morphou and others.

On August 17, 1974, the Government of Cyprus announced that Turkish troops occupied up to 40% of the entire territory of the island. The next day, Glafkos Cleridis, who temporarily headed the country, accepted the Turkish proposal, which consisted in dividing the territory along the Lefka-Famagusta line. The fire between the warring parties was ceased. It was supposed that a federation would be created in Cyprus, but nothing of the kind happened.

1975 The "administration" of the occupied territories unilaterally proclaimed Cyprus a Turkish federal state.

1983 The so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" was proclaimed, but only Turkey recognized this state. Under international law, the Republic of Cyprus retains sovereignty over the entire territory that was part of it until 1974. The EU also recognizes its sovereignty over the entire territory, considering that the north of the island is temporarily beyond the control of the legitimate Government.

2003 On the Attila line, in the presence of peacekeepers, the unarmed Solomos Solomou, who tried to rip off the Turkish flag, was shot point-blank by the Turks.

April 26, 2004. The failure of the Annan Plan. In the referendum on the solution of the Cyprus problem, held under the auspices of the UN, 75.8% of the Greek Cypriots voted against, believing that this plan does not provide for the unification of the island, but the recognition of the results of intervention and occupation.

2008 Resumption of negotiations on the Cyprus problem between President of the Republic of Cyprus Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.

CONSEQUENCES

Legally, Turkey justified its actions by the Treaty on Guarantees of the Independence of Cyprus of 1960, according to which Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom acted as guarantors. In fact, Turkey had been hatching a plan for dividing the island for a long time, and the coup itself was needed to give legitimacy to the Turkish intervention. Although Turkey used the removal of Archbishop Makarios III as a pretext for intervention, after the landing, it ceased to recognize him as President of Cyprus. The European Court of Human Rights found Turkey responsible for violations of the rights of Greek Cypriots.

Now the "green line" dividing Cyprus is guarded by the contingent of the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP). The hostilities had tragic consequences for the island: hundreds were killed and wounded, thousands of inhabitants lost their homes, about 200 thousand refugees left their homes and went south. The life of the country was paralyzed. Nicosia is the only divided capital on the planet, however, both the Cypriots and the world community are very hopeful that this sad attraction will soon cease to exist.

Tags: Northern Cyprus, Turkey, war
Last updated 11/27/2015.

The conflict and civil war in Cyprus, in no small part provoked by the junta in Greece, which led to the invasion of the Turkish island, the creation of Northern Cyprus and the de facto partition of the island, were caused by long historical causes, not least the behavior of individual community leaders. Each subsequent conflict provoked an aggravation of the situation, and the resulting division of Cyprus into Turkish (actually, the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus") and Greek parts is a direct logical consequence of how the conflict situation developed.

After the insurrectionary war in Cyprus, which ended with the island's independence, and the election of a new leadership, friction along ethnic lines began almost immediately in the government, staffed in accordance with the principle of ethnic quotas; the first noticeable focus of disagreement was the issue of manning the army, the Turks stood for mono-ethnic units, the Greeks for integrated ones. The political system founded by the agreements of 1960 began to act up, thus, right from the start. At the household level, everything was also unfavorable, and the Turks after the fact complained of constant harassment, both from neighbors and from the authorities, who, without any compensation or notification, took away land for the construction of roads and barracks, and only from the Turks, who suppressed attempts to sell real estate to the Turks, for all crimes and robberies did not punish anyone and did not intend to, and even preached from the ambos that “what is taken away through blood cannot be returned.” Already in 1961, the remobilization of both EOKA and TMT began. On December 21, 1963, a blaze broke out in Nicosia: a Greek patrol stopped a Turkish couple to check tugaments, a huge crowd gathered in defense of fellow believers, shooting began, two Turks and a policeman died. Both communes immediately resorted to violence against their opponents. Only thanks to the formidable warnings of the USSR and the frank threats of Lyndon Johnson, who announced that in the event of a conflict, NATO does not automatically intend to intercede for Turkey and will not give consent to the use of equipment and military equipment supplied by the alliance in actions against Cyprus, Inonu canceled the planned invasion. According to the official version, 133 Greeks died and 41 were missing, for the Turks the figures were 191 and 173, respectively; according to unofficial data, about 200 and 350 were killed. After the events of 1963, a lot of Turks moved from their traditional habitats to enclaves or to the Turkish zone. In fact, since 194, the Turks have not participated in the work of the government.

In 1967 a new aggravation followed; Greek nationalists, led by Grivas, undertook to patrol the Turkish villages and enclaves, 26 were killed, and in response, Turkey began to concentrate the army in Thrace and the amphibious group in the south, followed by an ultimatum - the removal of Grivas from the island, the payment of compensation to victims of the "patrols", the dissolution of the National Guard, the withdrawal of Greek troops from the island, the cessation of persecution of the Turkish commune. In November, war seemed almost inevitable to observers, but in the end they managed to do without extremes: Greece cut its contingent to the size stated in the 1960 agreements, Grivas was removed and removed from the island at the request of the Turks, but Makarios refused to disband the national guard. After 7 years, he probably regretted it very much. Turkish journalism accused him of a penchant for enosis, because otherwise he would have been better off cooperating with the Turks who did not want enosis, however, judging by his policy, he considered independence the best way out and politically the most beneficial for himself. GNP doubling in 1958-67 and GNP per capita quadrupling in 1967-73, improved living conditions, advantages of a system of political pluralism and administration based on it in comparison with the regime of colonels in Greece, the threat of a Turkish invasion, against which there are no reliable means of protection it was evident that in the event of an aggravation of pan-Hellenism - all this weakened the positions of enosis lovers, of which already in 1965 there were only 18%. Politically, the Enosists did not fare very well either. In the early 70s, with the active help of the Greek "regime of colonels", EOKA-V arose as a counterweight to the betrayal of the ideas of enosis, imputed to Makarios, which, until his death in January 1974, was supervised by Grivas, who was once again transported to Cyprus. With the support of the hardliner General Ioannidis, who came to power in Greece, who served in Cyprus in the 60s and considered Makarios a dangerous type prone to allying with the communists, the anti-communists on the island began to consolidate their positions, taking over all the Enosist organizations.

On July 2, 1974, Makarios demanded the recall of 650 Greek officers assigned to the Cypriot army on the grounds that they were subversive. The answer was a coup led by the organizers of which was Nikos Sampson, known for his deeds in the fight against the British, on July 15th. EOKA-V began arresting the unreliable, the massacre of the communists from AKEL and supporters of Makarios led to about 2000 dead, Makarios barely escaped murder, and fled to Paphos, from there to the base in Akrotiri and to London. The excesses of the EOKA, famous for its ultra-nationalist views, towards the Turks and simply settling scores on the sly led to a natural reaction. Although Sampson officially stated that the Turks had nothing to fear, the coup itself was only aimed at removing Makarios and elections would be held soon, Ankara, apparently having in mind the reputation of the new leader as an enemy of the Turks, immediately condemned the putsch, adding that such actions of the Greek government , apparently indicate a desire to annex Cyprus in violation of the 1960 agreements, and the Turkish leadership intends to take action in this regard. Britain tried diplomatically to install some less odious government in Cyprus, but was firm that the treaty did not entitle her to military intervention; The United States did not express its position accurately and clearly, although the Turks looked back at them, recalling the Suez-56, and in the UN Security Council vetoed the Soviet proposal to condemn the "actions of Greece"; other NATO allies "called for calm", "expressed concern", etc. Apart from helping fellow tribesmen, which motive usually never plays any role in political life, from the Turkish point of view, attempts at enosis with the connivance of Britain meant the possibility of future irredenta in Thrace and Asia Minor - and Greek Cyprus meant a constant strategic threat. Actions in accordance with the plans agreed back in 1960 and Article 4 of the treaty guaranteeing the status of Cyprus began on 20 July. Officially, Turkey qualified what is happening as “bariş harekâti” (= “peacekeeping operations”). At 08:30 on July 19, the Turkish fleet, consisting of 5 destroyers and 31 landing ships with 3,000 paratroopers on board, departed towards Cyprus, intending to arrive on its shores the next morning, and although there were full of alarming signs, such as the early closure of ministries, an information blackout in the coastal zone and the imposition of restrictions on the movement of tourists, in Greece they reacted calmly to the message, suggesting that this was an ordinary exercise, and the US 6th Fleet was not instructed to intervene. What was happening, on the other hand, aroused the interest of another player in world politics: not far from Kyrenia, the invasion forces met a Soviet minesweeper, which then was constantly nearby, but outside the landing zone.
At night, airborne units were landed at different points on the island. At 0630 the frogmen set out to reconcile without finding obstacles, and at 0830 a major landing began during which two landing craft ran aground, but there was no resistance. The capture of Kyrenia, adjacent to the landing site, the next day cost the Turks only 21 killed, and then the Turkish army quite confidently developed the first success, simultaneously increasing the grouping: by July 27, there were about 30 thousand Turkish soldiers, 240 tanks, 400 armored vehicles on the island with air and navy support. By the time of the UN-lobbied truce, the Turks occupied a fragment of territory along the 20-kilometer Nicosia-Kyrenia road up to about 30 km wide.

In the interval between the armistice and the start of negotiations (July 30, Geneva), the Turks continued to strengthen their positions. During the discussion, the Greeks proposed a common Cyprus with a federal system, and the Turks - autonomy in the north and five small ones on the island, which were to cover a total of 34% of the territory, 70% of industry and minerals, 80% of tourist sites, 65% of cultivated land. Hours after the unsuccessful end of the negotiations, on August 1, the Turks launched an offensive, taking advantage of the presence of aircraft and tanks, which the Greek Cypriots could not oppose; confusion reigned in the ranks of the defenders: the participants in the battles complained that while they were fighting, in Limassol the people continued to go to the beach and lead a carefree life, they blamed both the USA and the USSR for inaction, for conflicts between the socialists and the EOKA right in the course of hostilities with the Turks, so that some of the others were shot along the way, for poor training of personnel (“well, what use can be from soldiers who received a two-month training course 11 years ago ?!”), for passivity, stupidity or even the absence at the right time of seconded Greek officers, they asked why the landing in Kyrenia was easy and calm. On the second day of the offensive, the Turks occupied 37% of the island, north of the "Attila Line", almost exactly repeating the border proposed in 1965 to separate the communes, which ran from Morfou Bay to Famagusta / Gazimagusta. On the next day of hostilities, the leader of the Greek Cypriots, Clerides, accepted the Turkish proposal, which consisted in dividing the territory along the Lefka-Famagusta line. It was supposed that the two communes would become constituents of the federation, but nothing of the kind happened.

During the conflict, up to 4,500 Greek Cypriots and 300 Turkish troops died (of which 50 were on a ship sunk by mistake by their own aircraft). The division of Cyprus made a third of the population of the island (200 out of 600 thousand) refugees, but both sides denied any excesses on their part and blamed the excesses of their opponents. During the division, 50 thousand Turks moved to the north and about 180 thousand citizens were forced to move from the Turkish zone to the south, Turkish extremists from the "gray wolves" played a significant role in their expulsion. In total, 29% of the Greeks of the island and 44% of the Turks moved from their place. It is curious that 80% of the tourism industry got into the Turkish part of the island, and now the Greek part serving the needs of tourists has never been considered promising in this regard. However, the Greek half of the island appears to be more prosperous economically: in 1981 the Greek half had $4400 per capita and the Turkish half $1100, in 1991 the ratio was 12000 and 4000.

Cyprus, which was part of the British colonial possessions, gained independence on August 16, 1960. The Zurich-London agreements of 1959, which significantly limited the sovereignty of the republic, became the legal formalization of the granting of independence. Under these agreements, Great Britain, Greece and Turkey were declared guarantors of the "independence, territorial integrity and security" of Cyprus, which provided these states with the opportunity to interfere in its internal affairs ("Treaty of Guarantees"). In addition, Greece and Turkey received the right to keep their military contingents on the island - 950 and 650 people, respectively. ("Treaty of Union"). England has retained in Cyprus under its full sovereignty a territory of 99 square miles, on which are located two large military bases - Dhekelia and Akrotiri. It also secured the right to use other "small areas" and infrastructure in connection with the activities of the bases and facilities.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

In the light of yesterday's demands of Cyprus for the withdrawal of Turkish troops, as well as yesterday's transparent hint of the Prime Minister of Turkey Binali Yildirim Greek Cypriots about the undesirability of the unilateral use of hydrocarbon resources around the island - it is interesting to trace the history of the Greek-Turkish, "Cypriot conflict".

Cyprus, which was part of the British colonial possessions, gained independence on August 16 1960 of the year. The Zurich-London agreements of 1959, which significantly limited the sovereignty of the republic, became the legal formalization of the granting of independence. Under these agreements, Great Britain, Greece and Turkey were declared guarantors of the "independence, territorial integrity and security" of Cyprus, which provided these states with the opportunity to interfere in its internal affairs ("Treaty of Guarantees"). In addition, Greece and Turkey received the right to keep their military contingents on the island - 950 and 650 people, respectively. ("Treaty of Union"). England has retained in Cyprus under its full sovereignty a territory of 99 square miles, on which are located two large military bases - Dhekelia and Akrotiri. It also secured the right to use other "small areas" and infrastructure in connection with the activities of the bases and facilities.

Immediately after the liberation in Cyprus, all the prerequisites for an insoluble conflict were created. Under the new constitution, in the text of which the influence of London was easily guessed, the two main ethnic communities of the island - Greek and Turkish - received rights proportional to the number of representatives. Since the majority of the population is about 80% - were Greek Cypriots, then 18 -percentage community of Turkish Cypriots received very limited opportunities. Naturally, from the very first days of the existence of an independent republic in Cyprus, the Turks categorically refused to put up with the state of affairs.

Over the course of several years, relations between the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots escalated so much that the parties could hardly resist direct clashes.

The first serious aggravation of relations between the Turks and Greeks in Cyprus occurred at the end 1963 year, when, as a result of riots provoked by an attempt by a Greek patrol to check the documents of two Turks, shooting began. As a result, according to unofficial data, about 500 people and several hundred were missing. The clashes almost led to the start of a Turkish military operation on the island. Ankara was stopped only by the direct intervention of the USSR and the USA: Moscow behaved very harshly at the UN, and Washington directly warned the Turks that it would not support them in the event of aggression by one NATO member against another.

Back to top 1964 On the 19th, tension eased somewhat, but from that moment on, the Turkish community of Cyprus switched to a direct disregard for participation in a political settlement. In response to the enosis movement (the reunification of all Greek lands under the auspices of Athens), the Turkish Cypriots, with unequivocal support from Ankara, began the Taksim movement, that is, all-round support for the idea of ​​dividing the island into two parts according to ethnic principle. In defending the interests of both communities, they did not disdain the most stringent methods of persuasion, and as a result, to 1967 The Turkish population of Cyprus was almost entirely concentrated in the enclaves in the north of the island and in the surrounding areas.

This, alas, had the most negative impact on the development of the situation: sensing the opportunity to put pressure on the enemy, the Greek nationalists proceeded to openly aggressive actions. Thus, the second Cyprus crisis was provoked, which again almost led to war. It was only possible to avoid it due to the fact that the Greek side was forced to reduce its military presence on the island, remove the most odious nationalist politicians from there and reaffirm its commitment to the agreements on which the Cypriots were granted independence.

But these measures did not last long. In the same 1967 -m to power in Athens came military junta based on anti-communist sentiments, and it was the communists from AKEL who had the greatest weight on the Cypriot political scene, that is, the Progressive Party of the Working People of Cyprus. The Cypriot government, which was formed under its influence, quickly lost support from the mainland, and its main opponent, the nationalist underground EOKA-B, formed in 1971 by the terrorist wing of the National Organization for the Liberation of Cyprus, on the contrary, gained complete freedom of action. so complete that July 15, 1974-th organized a coup with the support of the National Guard, removing the archbishop of the President of Cyprus from power Makarios and putting a nationalist in his place Nikos Georgadis nicknamed Samson, a representative of the Greek underground organization EOKA-B, which advocated the accession of Cyprus to Greece - enosis. The putschists seized the capital's airport, radio station, presidential palace, a number of administrative institutions in Nicosia and established their power.

It was impossible to think of a better reason for the start of Turkish aggression, and Ankara, where for a long time and closely followed the development of events on the island that was more and more beneficial for her, immediately took advantage of this:
- Under the pretext of the impossibility of a peaceful settlement of the conflict and the protection of the Turkish community, the Turkish government sent its troops to Cyprus.

Turkish army on the day of the invasion of northern Cyprus. Photo: AP

At dawn on July 20, about 30 Turkish landing ships and boats, having made the transition from the Turkish port of Mersin, began landing amphibious assaults in the area 5-7 km west of the city of Kyrenia, and Turkish airborne assaults were landed in areas south of Kyrenia. By the end of the day, up to six thousand troops were transferred to Cyprus, and in the next few days the number of the Turkish corps was increased to 40 thousand people. They were armed with 300 tanks, a thousand armored personnel carriers and many other military equipment. Developing the offensive on Kyrenia and Nicosia, Turkish troops fought intense battles with units of the National Guard of Cyprus, widely used tanks, artillery and aircraft. The ships of the Turkish Navy blocked the southern ports of the island - Limassol and Paphos, preventing the transfer of Greek troops by sea. Greek ships, landing and transport ships on July 21 in the Paphos region were attacked by Turkish aircraft and ships and suffered heavy losses during the naval battle. By the end of July 21, Turkish troops captured Kyrenia, established control over the Kyrenia-Nicosia road, captured the capital's airport and began hostilities on the northern outskirts of Nicosia.

On July 20, the UN Security Council demanded the restoration of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus, the constitutional structure and the legitimate government of the republic, a ceasefire of the parties and the withdrawal of foreign troops from the island, called on Greece, Turkey and the UK to start peace negotiations on Cyprus.

July 22 1974 the ceasefire came into effect. Two conferences on Cyprus were held in Geneva on July 25-30 and August 8-14 to no avail. On August 14, Turkish troops, in order to expand the occupied territory, resumed their offensive from the Nicosia region to the east and west, aircraft attacked the troops, radio stations and other important objects of the Greek Cypriots in the capital. By the end of August 16, Turkish troops reached the so-called Attila Line, proposed by the Turkish government as the border between the Turkish and Greek parts of the island. They took control of the cities of Famagusta, Bogaz, Morfu and others.

As a result of these events, Turkish troops occupied about 37% territory of the island, which led to its actual split into two separate parts, which continues to this day. The country's economy was disorganized, communications between communities were completely broken. According to the UN, the total number of displaced Greek Cypriots amounted to 198 thousand h people, Turkish Cypriots - 37 thousand Human. IN 1974-1975 In the 1990s, an "exchange" of population took place: the Turkish Cypriots almost completely moved to the part of Cyprus occupied by Turkish troops, and the Greek Cypriots - to the south of the island.

February 13 1975 2009, the leadership of the Turkish community unilaterally proclaimed in the northern part of the island the so-called "Turkish Federative State of Cyprus", of which he was elected "first president".

15th of November 1983 1999, the Legislative Assembly of the "Turkish Federative State of Cyprus" unilaterally proclaimed the so-called independent Turkish Cypriot state, which is called the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TSRK). TSRK has not yet been recognized by anyone except Turkey. The TRNC is separated from the rest of Cyprus by a buffer zone. The line dividing the island into two sectors (the so-called "Green Line" - Green Line) is guarded by a contingent of the UN Peacekeeping Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP). The "Green Line" also passes through the historical center of the island capital of Nicosia - the tourist and shopping street Ledra.

The UN Security Council in resolution 541 (1983) condemned this step and called on all UN member countries "to respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus", "not to recognize any Cypriot state, except for the Republic of Cyprus". This position was reaffirmed in UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984), which contained a call "not to promote or render assistance in any way to the separatist formation" in the north of the island of Cyprus.

WITH 1975 The UN Secretary-General is carrying out the "good offices" mission entrusted to him by the Security Council in Cyprus, with the aim of assisting the Greek and Turkish communities of the island in the interests of a peaceful settlement of the Cyprus problem.

P.S.
The last proposal to solve the problem was defeated in a referendum, which was held on the island under the auspices of the UN on April 24, 2004:

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