Turkish Greek conflict in Cyprus. History of Cyprus. Cyprus conflict

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 captured capital airport, a radio station, a 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 an amphibious landing in the area of ​​5-7 km west of the city Kyrenia, and in areas south of Kyrenia, Turkish airborne assault forces were landed. 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 fighting 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 historical Center 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.

(original shortened a bit - S.P.)

There was another event in history that led to an almost full-scale war of one NATO country against another NATO country, although this was not formally declared a war. But we will start from afar.

Until the end of World War II, many islands in the Aegean belonged to Italy, and the island of Cyprus was a British colony until 1960. This placement served as a kind of buffer and made it possible to avoid armed skirmishes. +

The Greeks, however, did not forgive Turkey for the fact that the Turks disarmed the Greek military units that crossed its border in order not to fall into German captivity after the occupation of their homeland in April 1941. Greek military personnel were not allowed to go to Egypt, where the remnants of the Greek army were located, and were sent to internment camps. The Treaty of Friendship signed by Turkey with Nazi Germany on June 18, 1941 and the supply of chromium during the three years of the war for the needs of the Wehrmacht and the planned attack on the USSR after the fall of Stalingrad are not forgotten. We discussed this in the thread Hitler's non-combatant ally.

But that's not all...

Moreover, Turkey severely discriminated against ethnic minorities. Following the example of the Third Reich, on November 11, 1942, Turkey officially announced that in case of a possible entry into the war, “varlyk vergisi” is being introduced - a special tax on owners of real estate and land plots. At the same time, the Turks and other Muslims had to pay 4.94% of the value of the property, and the Greeks 156%, Jews 179%, Armenians 252%.

Among the national minorities of Turkey, suicides began, since the tax could not be challenged in court, and it was required to pay in cash within 15 days. Those Greeks who did not pay the tax had their property taken away, and the debtors themselves were sent to labor camps. And after that, debts were demanded from the relatives of the Greek - the Nazis in Germany did not think of that before. The camps for ethnic minorities in Turkey were closed only on November 15, 1944, when the economic influence of the non-Muslim population was finally undermined.

After the war, the islands in the Aegean went to Greece, while Turkey got nothing, even though it, having broken the treaty, declared war on Germany in February 1945. The Greeks say about this declaration of war: "Greece gave half a million lives for the victory over Germany, and Turkey gave a piece of paper." And this is true, because The Turkish army did not take part in the battles of World War II.

Ironically, within a few years, the Greek and Turkish troops again became allies and formally remain so.

On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began (discussed). The United States, which sent its troops there, demanded that its allies do the same. Turkey was the first country to come to the aid of the American and South Korean armies. The Turkish brigade of almost 15 thousand people arrived in Korea on October 12, 1950 and was there even after the end of the war until 1960. During this time, the Turks lost 721 people killed and 168 missing. A large memorial was built in their honor in the center of the Turkish capital Ankara.

Greece, where only in 1949 ended Civil War, did not burn with the desire to fight for the Americans in Korea, and the Americans even had to organize a change in the country's leadership there. The new prime minister, Sophocles Venizelos, announced on August 21, 1950, that the country would go to war in Korea "despite the fact that after 10 years of war, Greece has no reason or desire to start a war again." The people of Greece did not want to fight either. Privates Stavros Kassandras and Nikos Pitsikas refused to go to Korea and were shot by the tribunal.

On December 9, 1950, the Sparta battalion of 849 people arrived in Korea. Until the end of the war, it was transformed into a regiment of 1063 fighters. In addition, 9 military transport aircraft Douglas C-47 Skytrain. Four of them were shot down, including one by mistake by the Americans on December 22, 1951, while transporting the wounded. The total loss of the Greeks amounted to 185 people killed.

It makes no sense to write that during the three years of the war, the American command tried to keep the Greek and Turkish units on the front as far as possible from each other.

In September 1955, the last Greek pogrom took place in Istanbul. He was indeed the last, since after him all the Greeks left Turkey. During the pogrom, the families of Greek officers who served at the NATO headquarters in the Turkish city of Izmir, the former Greek Smyrna, also suffered. Since the United States and other democratic countries did not condemn this pogrom, Greece withdrew its troops from Korea in protest.

The participation of Greek troops in the Korean War is indicated by the inscription "Korea" over the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Athens, in the list of places where the Greeks fought. The stand in the military history museum in the same city is dedicated to the same event: there, at the feet of a mannequin in the form of the Sparta battalion, lies a captured Soviet PPSh.

In gratitude for sending troops to Korea, Greece and Turkey were simultaneously admitted to NATO on February 18, 1952. However, relations between the allies did not improve. Cyprus, which gained independence from Great Britain, became a new place of confrontation. Despite the fact that by this time the Greeks made up 82% of the population and were the indigenous population of the island, the British refused to transfer it to Greece and made it an independent state.

From that moment, Turkey began to support its compatriots on the island, not only politically and financially, but also by force of arms. So the first bombardment of the island by Turkish aircraft occurred back in 1964. Already in 1967, the Turks stopped electing their representatives to the Cypriot parliament and carrying out the decisions of the authorities state power, a provisional Turkish administration was established. Every year it became more and more obvious that the Greeks and Turks of Cyprus do not want to live in one state

On July 15, 1974, Greek nationalists led by Nikos Sampson overthrew the President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, and announced the reunification of the island with Greece, where the military junta of the “black colonels” then ruled. Turkey's response was not long in coming - after 5 days, the 40,000-strong corps of the Turkish army invaded the island, which began to carry out Operation Attila. Greece announced an ultimatum: if Turkey does not withdraw its troops from Cyprus within 48 hours, then it considers itself at war with it. However, even before the expiration of his term on July 21, an air battle took place between the Greek F-5 of Lieutenant Ioannis Dinopoulos and two Turkish F-104 aircraft over the Aegean Sea. The Turkish Air Force lost 2 fighters - the war between NATO allies actually began.

This was not part of the US plans. A squadron of the US Sixth Fleet, led by the aircraft carrier Forrestal, was urgently sent to the coast of Cyprus. Declaring a desire to stop the bloodshed, the US Navy blocked the transfer of troops by air and sea from Greece to Cyprus, but no action was taken against the transfer of Turkish troops to Cyprus. To avoid accusations of supporting aggression, the United States announced that it was suspending the supply of weapons to Turkey, but in the context of the war that had already begun, this was of no practical importance.

As a result, the Turkish 40,000th landing force was opposed by the 12,000th Cypriot army and 2,000 troops deployed from Greece before the blockade began. In addition, the Turks had a huge advantage in armament. Of the heavy equipment, the Greek Cypriots had only 32 legendary Soviet T-34 tanks and English armored personnel carriers and guns also from the Second World War. The Turks transferred to the island 110 American-made M-47 Patton 2 tanks of the 50s, a large number of recently received new American M114 and 115 guns and M113 armored personnel carriers, whose production began in the 60s. In addition, the Turks had complete dominance in the air and almost complete at sea - two old torpedo boats Soviet-built Cyprus were sunk on the very first day of the war.

However, the war on the island did not become an easy walk for the Turks. A forward detachment of the 50th Regiment and a Marine Regiment of more than 3,000 thousand people with 12 guns and 20 armored personnel carriers landed on Pentemily Beach, where there were no enemy troops at all. A few hours later, they managed to transfer the Greek battalion there, which attacked the Turks with the support of five T-34 tanks. Due to the almost 10-fold numerical superiority of the Turkish troops, it was not possible to throw them into the sea, but the Turks suffered significant losses. T-34s destroyed two armored personnel carriers and left the battle without loss. At night, having received reinforcements, the Greeks launched a second attack. The Turks requested fire support from the ships of their fleet, but they, without understanding, struck at their troops. As a result, the Turks suffered heavy losses and the commander of the 50th regiment, Colonel Karaoglanoglu, was killed.

Turkish soldiers during the invasion of Cyprus, July 20, 1974. Photo: Cypriot

How did the Turks fight the Turks?

The next day, three Turkish destroyers approached the port of Paphos: Adatepe, Kochatepe and Tinaztepe. The Greek Cypriots, knowing that the Turks were intercepting their messages, conveyed gratitude to Athens for the three ships of the Greek Navy sent. Having intercepted the message, the Turkish command ordered the aviation to destroy the Greek ships.

44 Turkish bombers took off to intercept the "Greek squadron". Ironically, both the Greeks and the Turks were armed with the same American-built destroyers. Turkish pilots saw Turkish flags on the ships, but they were instructed the day before that the Greeks would camouflage themselves in this way. Therefore, without the slightest doubt, they began to bombard the squadron.

Turkish sailors first tried to contact the planes by radio and report the error, but the Turkish pilots firmly grasped the instruction that the treacherous enemy would not only disguise themselves with Turkish flags, but also try to deceive them with Turkish speech.

As a result, in order to protect their lives, the Turkish sailors were forced to open barrage fire, which further assured the pilots that they were bombing the Greek squadron.

The result of the naval battle near Paphos was sad for Turkey: one Turkish destroyer Kochatepe sank, the other two were completely disabled. Turkish aviation lost three aircraft. 80 Turkish sailors were killed.

Greece has not lost anything, since it took only a virtual part in this battle.

The Turkish media announced a major victory over the Greek fleet, but 42 Turkish sailors were rescued by an Israeli ship and the world learned the truth about this incident.

On July 22, during the battles for the city of Kyrenia, the Turks lost 7 tanks, while two tanks were destroyed by grenades while the crews went to dinner. The city was captured by the Turkish army.

On August 2, a Turkish column was ambushed on Kornos Hill, a tank and an armored personnel carrier were destroyed, and two others were captured.

Finally, on August 14, the Turks managed to win a major victory at Miia Milia, destroying about 200 Greek soldiers, while losing 40 of their own.
The next day, the Turks attacked the Greek positions at Skilloura with the help of two battalions of paratroopers, supported by 35 tanks. The Greeks managed to lead a tank, captured on August 2, behind enemy lines. Having calmly shot 7 Turkish tanks in the back, the captured tank managed to return to its own. Another Turkish tank was hit by artillery, and their paratroopers, having suffered heavy losses, retreated. On the same day, with the help of an ambush near Lapithos, another tank of the Turkish army was captured, later destroyed.

On August 16, north of Nicosia, a T-34 tank with a Greek crew in a head-on battle defeated a much more modern American-made M47

The Turks also later managed to capture three T-34 tanks, but they were abandoned by the Greeks due to breakdowns. One of them is on display at the Turkish military museum. And the American M47 tank captured from the Turks was in service with the Cypriot army until 1993.
Despite fierce resistance, the Turkish army slowly moved forward. Their promotion was facilitated by the massive use of aviation, which led to heavy casualties among the civilian population. The Greek Cypriots, outraged that the American fleet was blocking the receipt of reinforcements from Greece, captured the American embassy in Nicosia on August 19 and killed the American ambassador. Realizing that they were losing the remnants of their influence in Greece and Cyprus, the United States demanded that Turkey stop the war, and by the end of August 1974, hostilities were stopped.

The Turks lost 3,500 men, 20 tanks, 24 guns during the fighting, while the Greeks, together with the civilian population, lost 4,500 killed and about 2,000 missing.

On the border between the Greek and Turkish parts of the island, UN troops were stationed, which are still there. During the war, the Turks captured 37% of the island. The Turkish population of the island was then about 18%. 200 thousand Greeks who found themselves in the territory occupied by the Turkish army were evicted to the Greek part of Cyprus, and 30 thousand Turks arrived from there.

An important outcome of the war in Cyprus was the decision of Greece, as a token of gratitude to the United States for its role in the war, to leave the military structure of NATO. Before that, in 1966, France did the same, although later both countries returned: Greece in 1980, and France in 2009.

After the end of the war, the confrontation between Greece and Turkey moved to the Aegean Sea and especially intensified after Greece declared that it considers its territorial waters and airspace above them to be 12 miles wide in accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Turkey, violating international laws, does not recognize this.

sources
TULIN Vladimir

In July 1974, a right-wing extremist military putsch took place in Cyprus, led by the terrorist Nikos Sampson, clearly inspired by the regime of "black colonels" in Greece. President Makarios took refuge in the British embassy and then left the island. Under the pretext of a coup and the desire to prevent the annexation of Cyprus to Greece, as well as the need to protect the Turkish Cypriots, on July 20, 1974, Turkey, taking advantage of the confusion, in violation of all international laws, intervened in Cyprus.

Turkey sent an expeditionary corps of more than forty thousand soldiers and officers to the island. The Turkish troops that landed in the Kyrenia region almost did not meet with a serious rebuff from the national guard and the Greek units. Moving quickly along north coast islands and through the mountains inland, Turkish troops soon occupied a vast territory. An airborne landing in an industrial area north of Nicosia hastened the advance. Fierce fighting ensued on the outskirts of the capital.

Despite the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the special conference in Geneva, the calls of the world community, the appeals of a number of governments foreign countries and Ankara's direct agreements with Athens and London, repeatedly established truces, were violated in cold blood. And time after time, Turkish troops made their way deeper and deeper to the south of the island.

The last time a ceasefire was announced on August 16, 1974. However, even after that, in a number of places, Turkish forces occupied new areas of territory under various pretexts. They completely occupied the cities of Kyrenia and Famagusta, a significant part of Nicosia. Many areas of these cities and dozens of villages lay in ruins. However, frightened by the prospect Greco-Turkish War, and consequently the collapse of the entire southeastern flank of NATO, the North Atlantic strategists turned their backs on the Athenian dictators.

Not having existed for even a few days, the "government" put in power in Cyprus by the rebels fell. Soon the military-fascist dictatorship in Greece also collapsed. Its leaders were arrested. Democracy was restored in Greece. After the fall of the Greek military junta in Athens on July 23, Archbishop Makarios, who was in exile, returned on December 7 to the now divided island.

However, he did not succeed in overcoming the division of the country. For the Cypriots, the events of the summer and autumn of 1974 turned into severe trials and enormous sacrifices. The sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus were undermined. From east to west, the republic is separated by a strip of military fortifications and minefields. This led to the actual split of the island into two parts isolated from each other - North and South.

One of the researchers once remarked: “Cyprus is an ethnographic fruit cake in which Greek and Turkish currants are mixed in every city, on every street.” Greek and Turkish Cypriots did indeed get along quite peacefully with each other, at least under the British administration. But in 1974, the "ethnographic pie" was cut, and the "currants" now exist separately from each other.

Turkey has occupied 37 percent of the island's territory. As a result of the invasion, 200,000 Greek Cypriots, i.e. 40 per cent of all Greek Cypriots, were forced to leave their homes in the occupied zone and become refugees in their own country. Even those Greek Cypriots were expelled from there who, despite the hostilities of 1974, remained in the territory occupied by the Turkish army, did not want to leave their homes and were ready to stay in northern Cyprus.

Today, only a few hundred Greek Cypriots, mostly elderly, remain in the north, mainly on the Karpasia peninsula. About 45 thousand Turkish Cypriots, at the insistence of the leaders of their community, moved to the north. One of the most dire consequences of the Turkish invasion is the fact that over 1,600 Greek Cypriots are still missing. These people were captured by the Turkish army, but the Turkish authorities refuse to provide any information about them.

Approximately 88,000 settlers were illegally relocated from mainland Turkey to Cyprus. This clearly indicates an attempt to demographically change the composition of the island's population. Moreover, the settlers got the property of the Greek Cypriots who fled to the south. Most churches in the north are closed. The crescent is everywhere crowding and obstructing the cross. And traditional and cultural heritage Cyprus is deliberately destroyed. Many churches and holy places were robbed and destroyed.

Historical and cultural monuments were systematically destroyed in the occupied territory, and many of them were sold abroad. A vivid example of this is the story that received wide international publicity - in the occupied zone, mosaics were removed from the church in Kanakaria and sold to an American art dealer. Following legal action by the government and the Church of Cyprus, a US court ordered the return of the mosaics to their rightful owner, the Orthodox Church of Cyprus.

Despite numerous UN resolutions, Turkey still maintains a 35,000-strong military group on the island. While not renouncing in principle a peaceful settlement of the Cyprus problem, it essentially consolidates the split of the island in every possible way. During the years of the crisis, the Turkish Cypriot administration carried out many separatist measures in the north of the island under its control.

On February 13, 1975, in Nicosia (more precisely, in the northern part of the Cypriot capital, divided by the so-called "green line", which is the border between the Republic of Cyprus and the occupied zone), the creation of its own "Federal State of Turkish Cypriots" is announced. In the parliamentary elections that followed, the leader of the Turkish community, Rauf Denktash, is elected president of northern Cyprus.

However, the international community still recognizes only a single Cypriot state and the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus throughout the island. On November 15, 1983, Rauf Denktash proclaims the independent state of the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", which no longer even verbally considers itself as an integral part of the state of Cyprus. Only one Turkey announced the recognition of this "state". In fact, it is the territory occupied by Turkish troops.

The proclamation by the Denktash administration of the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" further deepened the split of the island. This move was opposed by the governments of most UN member countries. As a result of such actions, both on the part of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot administration, over the years that have passed since 1974, it has not been possible to achieve a political settlement of the Cyprus problem. Community leaders have repeatedly had contacts to resolve the problem.

However, due to the position of Turkey, which is striving in every possible way to consolidate the division of the island, they did not lead to positive results. The north of the island, where about 140 thousand people now live, is dependent on the Turkish economy and receives financial assistance from Ankara. As monetary unit goes there Turkish lira. You can get to the north of Cyprus only through Turkey, and international mail is delivered there only with the address of the nearest Turkish city.

In the north of the island, crisis phenomena in the Turkish economy are constantly felt. Some people say that when people sneeze in Ankara, in the north of Cyprus a cold knocks people down. The south is under the control of the government of the Republic of Cyprus. About half a million Greek Cypriots live in the south of the island. In the Republic of Cyprus, the pre-partition cabinet of 1974 consisted of ten ministers (seven Greeks and three Turks).

In parliament, 35 seats out of 50 belonged to the Greeks, 15 to the Turks. Despite the partition of 1974, the constitution remained nominally in force. In 1985, the number of seats in parliament was increased to 80, of which 24 were reserved for Turkish Cypriots. True, they remain unemployed. Instead, the northern part of Cyprus holds elections every four years for 50 seats in its own parliament.

Before the events of 1974, the North provided almost 70 percent of the industrial production of all of Cyprus, sixty percent of agricultural exports were grown here, more than half of the minerals and minerals were mined here. It was in this area that most preferred to relax. foreign tourists who came to Cyprus. Thus, in 1973, eighty-two percent of the objects of the tourist industry, which is one of the most important sources of foreign exchange earnings for Cyprus, were concentrated in the North.

Because most of tourism infrastructure, industrial and agricultural production in the early 70s was in the north of the island, the Republic of Cyprus had to re-create some vital sectors of the economy, build new ports and industrial enterprises.

However, the southern part of the island managed much better than the Turkish-occupied north to cope with the economic problems generated by the partition of Cyprus. There, after 1974, what could be said was a small economic miracle. The standard of living of the population of the Republic of Cyprus is the highest in the Eastern Mediterranean. The volume of agricultural and industrial production exceeded the pre-war level of the island as a whole. And the tourism industry has been experiencing a real boom for many years now.

The "economic miracle", however, concerns only the southern part of the island. Turkish Cypriots and until 1974 played a secondary role in the country's economy. The reason for this was the lower level of education and training. All major enterprises were in the hands of the Greek Cypriots. Today, the lagging of the northern part of Cyprus from the southern one is also due to the international boycott of the self-proclaimed "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", the closure of most of the foreign markets for exports and imports to this "republic". But it is also curious that, in comparison with Turkey, Northern Cyprus looks much richer.

I dedicate this post to the favorable attention of Dmitry Ridiger and all bloggers who find it interesting. The Turkish invasion of Cyprus took place in 1974, in the last days of the junta of the “black colonels” in Greece, and was to a large extent a reaction to the inactivity of the United States and Great Britain, which acted as guarantors of an earlier agreement on the division of powers between the communities. However, the common Greek opinion that the events in Cyprus took place according to the American scenario of dividing the island (see the Acheson plan) looks more plausible.

Event History

War

Tank T-34-85, used during the war by the Greek Cypriots and captured by the Turkish army.

In 1964 and 1967, outbreaks of interethnic discord between Turks and Greeks were already observed, and the situation on the island remained quite tense. In July 1974, with the support of the Greek junta, the President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, was removed from power, and control of the island passed to a group of radicals led by Nikos Sampson, a representative of the Greek underground organization EOKA-B, which advocated the annexation of Cyprus to Greece (enosis), known for its extremism and anti-Turkish activity in the past. Despite the new leadership's assurances of loyalty to the Turkish population of the island, as a response, on July 20, 1974, Turkey sent its army to the island (Operation Atilla). Turkey justified its actions with the 1960 Cyprus Independence Guarantee Treaty, according to which Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom acted as guarantors of independence. In fact, Turkey had hatched a plan for dividing the island for a long time, but the landing in 1964 was prevented by the secret Greek division on the island and the intervention of the United States, in order to avoid a military clash between the allies. One of the first actions of the Greek junta was the withdrawal of the division in 1968. The Turkish landing was only a matter of time, the removal of Makarios was taken over by the Greek junta. The coup was needed to give legitimacy to the Turkish intervention. The landing and ethnic cleansing carried out by Turkish troops led to the de facto division of the island into two parts, inhabited by Turks and Greeks respectively, and, secondarily, to the restoration of the government of Makarios. Although the Turks took advantage of the removal of Makarios for their intervention, after the landing they ceased to recognize him as the president of Cyprus.

The island of Cyprus, as a result, was divided into the North, controlled by the Turkish Cypriots, and in reality by Turkey, and the South, controlled by the Greek Cypriots. The European Court of Human Rights found Turkey responsible for violations of the rights of Greek Cypriots forced to leave their homes and lands in northern Cyprus (Loizidou v. Turkey).

Consequences

The line dividing the island into two sectors is guarded by a contingent of the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP, English UNICYP). In the fall of 2004, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended to the Security Council that the force's mandate be extended, but that its military component be cut by a third from 1,230 to 860, while strengthening the mission's political and civilian components. It is interesting that, unlike other zones of long-term presence of UN peacekeepers, such as Kashmir or Sinai, there are almost no combat contacts between the parties to the conflict along the line of contact during the entire period of the mission's presence. But on this line, in 2003, in the presence of peacekeepers, the unarmed Solomos Solomou, who tried to rip off the Turkish flag, was shot at point-blank range by the Turks.

In 1983, the Turkish sector proclaimed itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, but only Turkey recognized this state. According to international law, the Republic of Cyprus retains sovereignty over the entire territory that was part of it before 1974. The Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, and the EU also recognizes its sovereignty over the entire territory, considering that the north of the island is temporarily outside the control of the legitimate government.

Negotiations on the unification of the island have been going on since the landing of Turkish troops in Cyprus, but without visible results. The last proposal to solve the problem was defeated in a referendum that was held on the island under the auspices of the UN on April 26, 2004. 75% of Greek Cypriots voted against this, believing that the plan does not provide for the unification of the island, but recognition of the results of intervention and occupation. Unlike the Turkish Cypriots, most of whom supported the plan prepared by British diplomacy and named after UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and not only Turkish Cypriots, but also immigrants from Turkey who moved to Cyprus, participated in the referendum. According to the Greek authorities of the Republic of Cyprus, the number of the latter already exceeds the number of Turkish Cypriots by three times.

Some hope for progress in the negotiations is associated with the victory in the 2008 presidential election of Dimitris Christofias, a supporter of increased efforts to reach a compromise.

Add-ons

• In 2004 Cyprus joined the European Union. In fact, only the Greek part of the island is a member of the EU. After the accession, a massive filing of documents by ethnic Turks for the issuance of Cypriot passports was noted.

• On the night of March 8-9, 2007, unexpectedly for the entire world community, a small part of the wall that divided the two parts of the Cypriot capital Nicosia into the Greek and Turkish parts was dismantled.

• Since January 1, 2008, Euro banknotes have been put into circulation in Cyprus.

ANOTHER STATEMENT OF THE SAME EVENTS. BUT FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE MILITARY AND MUCH IN DETAILS.

The worsening of the situation occurred with the coming to power in Greece in 1967 of the military junta. The military dictatorship actually headed for the capture of Cyprus and relied in this on the extreme Greek nationalists. In November 1967, General Grivas' forces attacked two Turkish villages on the island. In response, Turkey issued an ultimatum to Greece demanding the withdrawal of Greek troops from Cyprus, and both countries again found themselves on the verge of war. The situation softened somewhat only at the beginning of 1968. General Grivas was recalled from Cyprus, and the contingents of Greek and Turkish troops on the island were reduced to the size provided for by the 1959 agreement.

In political terms, the actual division of Cyprus was growing. The Greek Cypriots held new presidential elections in February 1968, in which Makarios III collected 96% of the vote. The Turkish Cypriots formed in December 1967 an official "Turkish Provisional Administration", declaring non-recognition of all laws issued in the Republic of Cyprus since the end of 1963. At the same time, inter-communal negotiations were underway, the parties agreed on measures such as the future return of Turkish representatives to state bodies in accordance with population, the abolition of the right of veto, etc. Disagreements persisted on many fundamental issues: the Greek Cypriot side insisted on a single state, the Turkish community leaned towards federation.

The emerging cautious progress was thwarted as a result of the actions of the Greek military junta and its supporters in Cyprus, who formed the secret organization EOKA-2, headed by Grivas who illegally returned to the island. The anti-communist regime in Athens was suspicious of the archbishop's dealings with Moscow and the support he received from the 40,000-member Cypriot Communist Party. The junta called him "Red", and feared that he would provide Cypriot ports for the basing of the Soviet fleet. In late spring and early summer, the campaign to discredit Makarios was intensified. The Cypriot bishops announced the removal of Makarios III from the post of archbishop, and the military government of Greece demanded that the Republic of Cyprus change the composition of the government. However, Makarios continued to pursue his former independent course and responded with repression to the actions of extreme nationalists. After the government of Cyprus on July 2 demanded that Greece withdraw from the island 650 Greek officers assigned to the Cypriot National Guard (CNG), on July 15, the Cypriot reaction, with the support of more than 900 people of the Greek military contingent, mutinied against the legitimate president, Archbishop Makarios, the latter managed to escape from countries with the help of the British military. The rebels seized the airport, radio station, presidential palace and several other government offices in Nicosia. Bloody battles broke out with security forces loyal to the government, police and volunteer units. Power was usurped by far-right politician Nikos Sampson. 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 (950 people), several units transferred from Greece by transport aircraft the day before, as well as terrorist groups of the underground organization EOKA-2. The Turkish government demanded that Greece not support the rebels, withdraw all Greek officers from the island, and respect the independence of Cyprus. The Greek junta began to dodge. The civil war began.

The rebellion in Cyprus directly affected the interests of the USSR. The Soviet embassy in Nicosia is the largest in this part mediterranean sea, the number of his staff was greater than in any of the Soviet embassies in Cairo, Tehran and Beirut. A sophisticated communications center linked the Cypriot embassy to Moscow and the Soviet Mediterranean fleet, as well as to two Soviet intelligence vessels that monitored radio communications off the Israeli coast. And if the anti-communist Nikos Sampson was consolidated in power, it would be necessary to reduce the number of the embassy and curtail most of its activities. The Fifth Squadron of the Soviet Navy almost immediately became involved in the course of the crisis. On July 15, at 11:00 am, an urgent telegram from the chief of intelligence of the Black Sea Fleet arrived on the command ship, the cruiser Zhdanov, with a message about a military coup in Cyprus. With reference to telegraph agencies, he reported that the President, Archbishop Makarios, had been killed by the national guards. Then came telegrams from the Naval Intelligence Directorate with details about the events in Cyprus. The commander of the squadron at that moment was the chief of staff of the squadron, Alexander Petrovich Ushakov, since the squadron commander had gone on vacation. An order was received from the Chief of the Main Headquarters of the Navy: KUG No. 1, consisting of the Grozny RC and the Krasny Kavkaz BOD, urgently weigh anchors and take the patrol line west of Cyprus; EM "Flaming" to stand on the barrel number 03 in the immediate vicinity of the island in the south; minesweeper "Rear Admiral Pershin" - to point No. 55 north of Cyprus; KPUG-2 as part of the BOD "Admiral Nakhimov" and "Admiral Makarov" from the 64th point to go to the eastern 12th; REC "Abakan" from the area of ​​the village of Piraeus go to Cyprus With the purpose of intercepting radio communications, including on VHF. By the end of the day, the situation in Cyprus remained difficult, but according to reports from Budapest, President Makarios survived and went on the radio with a statement to support the legitimate government. At 22.30 on the cruiser "Zhdanov" officers of the headquarters and the political department were gathered, they were informed in detail about the events in Cyprus. The task force began to prepare combat orders. And at 24.00 the ships already weighed anchors for their implementation. Recommendations were given for refueling ships in the new environment. The telegrams were sent to the tankers "Leningrad", "Desna", "Krasnovodsk".

The Americans also built up their forces in the Cyprus area. July 15, immediately after a successful coup in Cyprus, the aircraft carrier "America" ​​(America) CV 66, which was in Spanish port The company, waiting to be relieved after a six-month stay in the Mediterranean, was ordered to enlarge the Sixth Fleet instead of returning to the US. The aircraft carrier Independence CV 62, which was replacing America, was also rushing there from the United States. In addition, the aircraft carrier Forrestol CV 59 came to Cyprus from the Ionian Sea with its escort ships.

On July 17, President Makarios and the Prime Minister of Turkey arrive in London, where they have meetings with the Prime Minister and the British Foreign Secretary. Since Greece and Turkey were allies in the NATO bloc, the diplomatic departments of Western countries tried to keep the warring parties from clashes, but nothing came of it. Britain and the United States did not want to intervene in the conflict. When Turkey demanded on July 17 that the British use military force to put down the rebellion with them, in accordance with the 1960 Peace Guarantee Agreement, they refused to do so. However, the British Government promised the Turkish Prime Minister to take steps to prevent the Greeks from sending aid to Cyprus. At 22.15 on July 16, 1974, the British aircraft carrier Hermes R12 entered the conflict area with a detachment of marines (41 Commando Group). The advance commando group landed at Larnaca at 4 pm on 20 July 1974. The unit was given the task of securing ESBA and receiving refugees. It is now known from various maps in the recently released files of HMS Hermes that she was not the only British warship in the Cyprus area at the time of the Turkish invasion, but one of the few that actually kept Cyprus "under siege". The positions of some others were known only to the governments of the United States and Great Britain.

On July 17, press reports speak of a massive Turkish military buildup. NATO has expressed broad support for President-elect Makarios and the territorial integrity of the island of Cyprus. On July 19, President Makarios, who arrived in New York on July 18 at the UN Security Council, stated that the successful coup was organized by the Greek Military Regime. Under the pretext of protecting the interests of the Turkish Cypriots, Turkey decided to solve the old problem of control over the island in one blow.

As you can see, Turkey, according to all data, surpassed Greece. To this it should be added that in May 1973. The Hellenic Navy officer corps was subjected to repression after being accused of trying to oppose the "black colonels" regime. At least 1 destroyer commander, 6 submarine commanders and 7 torpedo boat commanders were arrested. In addition, several officers fled to Italy and asked for political asylum there, including the commander of the EM "Velos" Nikolaos Paaps, the minesweeper "Phaedra" Konstantin Costakis.

At 13.00 four (according to other sources three) Greek submarines of the German type 209/1100 were ordered to go to the island of Rhodes. At the end of the day " Nereus», « Proteus», « Triton", And " Glavkos"on the surface came to the island of Rhodes.

At 17.00 the order was given to start the Turkish invasion. Half an hour later, British television shows the withdrawal of the Turkish fleet to Cyprus. The Turkish invasion fleet left the Turkish port of Mersin. It included 23 landing craft - 1 LST, 2 LSM, 20 LCU, carrying approximately 3,000 soldiers from the 6th Marines and the 50th Infantry Regiment. Landing craft escorted 5 destroyers (including D-351 " MaresalFavziCakmak» , D-353" Adatepe» , D-354" Kocatepe» , D-355" Tinaztepe”) and 2 frigates. On the crossing at night, the invasion detachment was discovered by the Soviet minesweeper Rear Admiral Pershin (K-l Malyshev).

At 21.15 the observation post of the Cypriot National Guard at Cape Andreas reports the discovery of a group of 6 ships coming from Mersin. Vessel traffic was detected again at 21.40, 8-10 vessels were moving from the port of Mersin to the port of Kyrenia. At 20:30, two Cypriot torpedo boats "T-1" and "T-3" are ordered to be ready for battle.

At dawn on July 20, after a long and dangerous flight, Turkish UH-1 helicopters landed detachments of the 1st and 2nd paratrooper brigades near Kyrenia. They were supported by Turkish Air Force aircraft, which, among others, attacked the Nicosia International Airport, where they destroyed several airliners. In addition, Turkish paratroopers landed from C-130 and C-47 transport aircraft in the Nicosia region at 06:07. In total, up to 6 thousand Turkish soldiers with weapons were transferred to the island during the day.

At 01.30 11 Turkish ships were found near Kineria, at 04.30 they were 10-12 miles from the coast of Cyprus.

At 02.00 six Turkish ships were found in the area of ​​the port of Famagusta. Later they would be identified as six civilian merchant ships, accompanied by a small detachment of cover, sent by the Turks to divert attention from the main landing site. Whole area Aegean Sea was declared a war zone by the Turkish military authorities.

In the morning, the first naval battle took place near the port of Kyrenia. At 0500 hours two Cypriot torpedo boats T-1" And " T-3"left the port of Kyrenia to meet the Turkish fleet (the boats were with worn-out mechanisms, and could develop top speed up to 30-31 knots, against the original 50 knots). At 05.15 Turkish planes sank « T-1", and at 05.23 and " T-3" was also sunk by gunfire from two Turkish destroyers and fire from an aircraft. Nine out of ten crew members T-3» died. The rest of the boats based in Bogazi do not take part in the hostilities. Two of them, left intact during the retreat in Boghazi, were subsequently captured by Turkish troops and are now on display in the museum in Istanbul.

At 05.25, Turkish aircraft bombed the positions of the 3rd tactical regiment and the 252nd infantry battalion before landing in the Kyrenia region.

At 0630 Turkish "divers" are sent to Pentemili to investigate the approaches for sea mines, but none have been found.

At 07:00, 3 Greek submarines are ordered to dive after the news of the beginning of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. At 07.15 a Military Council was formed in Athens, and the idea of ​​an alliance with Cyprus was put forward as a method to stop the Turkish invasion. This was not announced, but negotiations about the project were underway.

At 0800, an attempt by the Turkish troops to land Glykiotisa, near the village of Tembos, failed. Five landing craft LCU "s with 600 soldiers on them could not land and moved to Pentemili. At 08.30 in Pentemili, the first landing craft reaches the coast. Turkish paratroopers landed on the coast at two points on the northern coast of Cyprus - “Pladini” and “Karaoglanoglu” - approximately at a distance of ten kilometers.The amphibious assault was commanded by General Suleyman Tuncer (Suleyman Tuncer).The paratroopers met almost no resistance and the landing was completed within three hours: there was only a battle with two jeeps which were destroyed in an hour.At 09.30 Cypriot artillery begins to fire on the Turkish Turkish forces suffered serious losses, some of them as a result of "friendly fire" from the destroyers that support the landing.

The Turkish invasion of Cyprus came as a complete surprise not only to the Greek government, but also to the armed forces - many of the military personnel were on summer vacation. Therefore, time was lost and general mobilization was announced only after noon on July 20, according to which citizens up to 40 years of age as a private and up to 50 years of officers were subject to conscription. The concentration of troops began on the Greek-Turkish border in the area of ​​​​Alexandroupolis, as well as in the ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki to form landing forces. The Greek government officially announced that if the Turks continue hostilities in Cyprus, they will declare war on Turkey in 48 hours.

At 09.30 the Greek landing craft L-172 Lesbos» with 450 soldiers of the Greek Army of Cyprus was about 50 miles away from Cyprus, it was carrying soldiers to replace those on the island. In the afternoon at 17.00, it reached the port of Paphos and, having landed soldiers, opened fire on the positions of the Turkish Cypriots. The Turkish command believed that this was the first sign of a larger Greek naval invasion and sent three destroyers from the main invasion force there to conduct reconnaissance. But " Lesbos"At 18.00 he left Paphos and moved south to Egypt. Also in response to Turkish landing operations, at 15.00 Greek submarines « Glavkos" And « Nereus"ordered to begin patrols in the Aegean between Turkey and Cyprus," Triton"received orders to patrol near Rhodes, and « Proteus» in the area between Smyrna and the Dardanelles.

At 17.00 a new detachment of 1400 Turkish paratroopers landed on the island, in the area between Kioneli and Agyrta. By 18.00, having recovered from the first Turkish strike, the Greeks begin the first of the offensives against the Turkish forces. But the superiority of the Turkish Air Force allowed the Turks to inflict serious losses on the armored forces of the Greek Cypriots, but 3 fighters were shot down by enemy fire.

On July 20, the UN Security Council, in its resolution, unanimously calls for a truce between the parties and the withdrawal of all foreign military personnel, as well as the start of negotiations.

On July 20, two US Navy F-4J aircraft taking off from the Forrestol aircraft carrier intercepted two Greek F-5As fighters off the island of Milos and forced them to return to their base. Both sides limited themselves to mock attacks, as they did not have permission to shoot.

From the first days of the conflict, the Soviet government took the side of the legitimate government of Cyprus, speaking first against the putschists, and then against the occupation of the island and its division. But the Americans tried to discredit the Soviet position by publishing a number of articles in the New York Times that claimed that even before the conflict began, the Soviet Union expressed cautious approval of Turkish actions. U.S. Department of Defense officials reported that on July 19, the Soviet Union raised the alert of seven airborne units. Some US officials have claimed that Moscow was trying to show its support for Turkey if it intervenes militarily in Cyprus. According to well-informed officials, there were indications that the Soviet Union suggested to the Ankara government that it could count on Soviet support. Following the Americans, on July 20, Agence France-Presse reported that due to the aggravation of the military-political situation in the eastern Mediterranean, landing troops in the amount of 50 thousand people were put on alert, and in the afternoon of July 20, all the armed forces of the Soviet Union, and Soviet troops are ready to land on Cyprus. To this, TASS stated that given message is a fiction, and the armed forces of the USSR are in a normal state. However, everything was not so simple, according to some reports, the readiness of a number of parts of the armed forces of the USSR really increased, the Bolgrad Airborne Forces was raised on alert (apparently it was also with other airborne divisions). But it was rather a precautionary measure, aimed at the event of a sharp escalation of the conflict in Thrace on the mainland, where both sides alerted their troops, and where the war could affect the USSR's Warsaw Pact ally - Bulgaria. In fact, the Soviet Union tried to distance itself from the conflict as much as possible, since the victory of either side did not give us anything. Greece also tried to use Soviet power in its plans. The leadership of Greece, represented by the Prime Minister, left without guarantees of support from Great Britain and the United States, fearing a further Turkish offensive, tried to enlist support from the USSR. Klerides, a senior Greek official, stated that the only guarantee of Cypriot independence was the involvement of the Soviet Union. According to him, the USSR would never allow the Turks to permanently occupy Cyprus and the Greeks would eventually have to rely on them to stay there. But reality destroyed the plans of the Greeks. Klerides met with a Soviet observer, Victor Menin, and asked if Greece could get Soviet help if Turkey continued hostilities. Menin stated that there would be no unilateral action by the Russian military. His government, Menin said, had reached an agreement with the US precluding unilateral military intervention by either side. US Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, at a July 20 press conference in San Clemente, said he had made contact with Soviet representatives and reached an "understanding" to prevent unilateral action by the Soviet Union.

It so happened that the Soviet ships were the first to know about the beginning of the invasion. MTSC "Rear Admiral Pershin" (K-l Malyshev), having discovered the Turkish invasion forces, not only notified the squadron command in time, but also continued to monitor them, despite the high risk. The head of the political department of the 5th squadron P.R. Dubyagin recalls: “ The most responsible task fell on the shoulders of the minesweeper "Pershin", which was ordered to monitor the movement of Turkish ships and aircraft in the northern part of the island. Cyprus, which he honorably fulfilled, practically being in close proximity to the battle formations of the Turks, 130 cables from the coast. He watched as the ships of the OKOP (detachment of fire support ships) of the Turks began shelling the coast, and then the ships with the landing force entered the bay of the port of Kyrenia and began landing. On the minesweeper they heard a firefight, they announced a combat alarm. In general, it must be admitted that the position of our minesweeper was very delicate - any Greek aircraft could confuse it with the Turks and fire missiles". The same danger came from Turkish side, P.R. Dubyagin recalls: “ The commander of the tschm "Pershin" reported that two Turkish destroyers rushed towards him at full speed. He gave them the proper greetings just in case. Apparently, making sure that the minesweeper was Soviet, the Turks passed from him in close proximity, without taking any hostile actions.».

Early in the morning, as soon as it became known about the invasion, Commander A.P. Ushakov contacted Moscow, and Rear Admiral P.V. Koretsky gave him the order of the Minister of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy to transfer the squadron to high alert. The Sage signal was transmitted to the ships of the squadron and a combat alert was announced. Ships began to arrive in the conflict area. The cruiser "Zhdanov" and the TFR "Marten" located at point No. 12 in the territorial waters of Egypt, without the consent of the Egyptian authorities, weighed anchor and left the territorial waters of Egypt. We met with the Admiral Nakhimov and Admiral Makarov BODs approaching from the west and headed northeast to connect with KUG No. 1 on the patrol line west of Cyprus. Fearing the intervention of Western countries, the commander-in-chief ordered the squadron to organize a thorough observation of the ships of the US Navy, Great Britain, Greece and Turkey. Fulfilling the order, the squadron commander ordered: EM "Pushing" to organize tracking of the aircraft carrier "Forrestal" and at the same time to observe the helicopter carrier "Incheon", and the destroyer "Flaming" to observe the English aircraft carrier "Hermes". The straits of Kasos, Karpathos and to the north of Rhodes were blocked by auxiliary vessels with the task of monitoring the movement of warships. The captains of what they saw were supposed to report to the command post of the squadron immediately about what they saw, in addition, they were warned about the strict observance of international maritime law. The operational unit received the task of staying on the patrol line in readiness to strike at the AUG, command was entrusted to Captain 1st Rank N.I. Ryabinsky.

Serious fighting continues in Cyprus. At 02.30 Cypriot radar stations detected that 8 ships were moving from the port of Mersin to Kyrenia.

At 13.00 Greek submarines « Glavkos" And « Nereus"on orders approached Cyprus, they were 90 miles west of Paphos. Also the Greek landing craft " Rithemno” (in other publications it is called “Rethymnos”) came from Greece to Cyprus. She carried the 573rd Infantry Battalion and about 550 Cypriot volunteers. But at the end of the day he was ordered to stop moving towards Cyprus and go to the island of Rhodes.

In the afternoon, three Turkish destroyers Adatepe», « Kocatepe", And « Tinaztepe"Sent to Paphos to find out where the Greek troops landed came to that area. Knowing that their transmissions were controlled by the Turks, the Greek intelligence officers in Paphos transmitted a message allegedly thanking the approaching Greek naval forces for their timely arrival. The deception worked, intercepting the message, the Turkish Air Force bombed the destroyers. At 1435 Turkish aircraft spotted these 3 destroyers 10 kilometers west of Paphos and attacked them. The raid involved 28 F-100D Super Sabers, each carrying two 750-pound bombs, and sixteen F-104G Starfighters, each carrying one 750-pound bomb. The planes easily found the targets and immediately attacked them, ignoring the large Turkish flags on the ships. Since the Greek fleet also included similar destroyers transferred from the US Navy, the possibility of identifying them was difficult, and the flags were mistaken for a ploy by the Greeks. All three destroyers were hit by bombs within ten minutes of the air raid. At 14.45 the destroyer Kocatepe"sank as a result of a bomb hitting an ammunition depot. 80 team members Kocatepe died immediately, only 42 sailors were later rescued by an Israeli merchant ship that took them to Haifa. The other two destroyers, having received serious damage, left the combat area and went to Mersin for repairs. During the raid, the destroyers fired barrages and reportedly knocked out one of the F-104s (some reports say two or three aircraft were damaged). Turkey tried to hide the fact of this "friendly fire", and announced a major victory over the Greek fleet, this message was picked up by everyone news agencies, including Soviet ones, the truth surfaced the next day with Turkish sailors rescued by an Israeli ship.

On the second day of hostilities, all our ships were on the move in their combat positions, but there was a problem with refueling the ships. It was decided to transfer fuel to Desna from the Leningrad tanker, after which it should be urgently sent to Sevastopol for bunkering, and upon completion, it would urgently return. The main detachment, in order to save fuel, reduced the speed to 8 knots, leaving a minimum of boilers in operation. We received an order from Moscow to prepare EM "Flaming" and "SDK-82" for the evacuation of 250 Soviet citizens from Cyprus from Larnaca Bay, to be ready to transfer food for 70 people for 10 days for our embassy.

The fleets of Western countries continued to be drawn into the conflict area. The flagship of the US 6th Fleet, the cruiser URO "Little Rock" (Little Rock CLG 4), according to the intelligence of the Black Sea Fleet, left the port of Gaeta (Italy) and is heading for Cyprus at a speed of 22 knots.

Active air strikes by Turkish aircraft have caused concern about the safety of foreign nationals. 17,000 British citizens lived on the island, in addition, at the time of the conflict, at least 6,000 tourists were resting there, and there was also a UN contingent of 2,188 people on the island. Some of them ended up in the area where the fighting was fought, so it was decided to evacuate them first of all from Nicosia. July 21 at 12:00 Turkey agrees to the British demand to stop the aerial bombardment of Nicosia for 2 hours to allow foreign nationals to leave the city. Escorted by UN forces and British troops, a makeshift convoy of more than 500 private cars and trucks evacuated approximately 4,500 foreign nationals from the besieged capital to the British base at Larnaca, from where most of them were evacuated by Hercules aircraft.

Great Britain pledged to help the subjects of others European countries, as well as the Americans in the evacuation from the island, part of the British subjects and vacationers headed for Kyrenia, hoping to be evacuated by sea. Turkish tanks were already in the city, and the British had to negotiate with the Turks to evacuate them. Large crowds of evacuees gathered on the shore. The British frigate Andromeda (F57) was the first to come to Kyrenia for evacuation from Malta, followed by other ships (frigates Argonaut F56, Brighton F106), while they were pursued by Turkish ships. After that, the British authorities contacted the Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and announced the provocative behavior of the Turkish fleet, Ecevit admitted that the Turkish Navy had orders to keep the Royal Navy ten kilometers from coastline. The British warned him that they would hold Turkey responsible for any incidents. Turkish Prime Minister Ecevit sought to avoid any action that would lead to an armed confrontation with the United Nations Forces or with the UK. On this, the conflict situation was settled, and on July 22 at 9.15 am the evacuation of foreign nationals from the beach began. They were delivered by boats to British ships, including the missile destroyer Devonshir (D-02), the frigate Andromeda (F57), and they were evacuated by HU-5s helicopters to the British aircraft carrier Hermes. Turkish ships from a distance, only watched the evacuation and did not interfere. 1630 people were evacuated.

At this time, the Greeks decided to intervene directly, on the night of July 21-22, the 354th squadron of Noratlas aircraft carried out an operation to transport Greek paratroopers from the island of Crete to the island - Cyprus. Despite the dilapidation of the aircraft and the unfavorable flight conditions, 12 out of 18 aircraft participating in the NIKI (VICTORY) mission landed at the Nicosia airfield. The Noratlas plane was shot down, as a result of which 4 crew members and 27 paratroopers were killed. But this operation did not play a special role.

The Turkish marines were still stopping at the beachhead. In the morning at 03.30, the second Turkish landing party appeared 10 kilometers from the coast in the Kyrenia region. His mission is to conquer the port of Kyrenia and merge the positions of the coastal foothold with the Turkish Cypriot enclave Agyrta-Lefkosia before the start of the truce. At 10.00, the landing begins, its basis consisted of the 28th Infantry Regiment, which had a large number of M47 and M48 tanks. Greek Cypriot forces and Greek parts were unable to contain this new invasion force. At 1100, Turkish destroyers bombarded the Greek positions south of Ag Georgios to break the resistance. At the same time, an attempt by Turkish landing craft to directly enter the harbor of Kyrenia ended in failure.

In the afternoon, the first air battle took place between the Greek and Turkish Air Forces in the Aegean Sea, according to Greek data, they shot down a Turkish fighter, and the second, having lost fuel, crashed itself, the Turks deny these data and say that the plane crashed during takeoff.

At 15.00 2 Greek submarines are still sent to Cyprus.

At 4:00 pm, in accordance with UN Resolution No. 353, a provision for a temporary ceasefire came into force. The Cypriot army ceases fire. The Turks ignore him until their strategic goals are achieved. At 1700, the Turkish forces finally connected their beachhead with the enclave of Agyrta-Lefkosia. Turkish destroyers and aircraft continue to bombard Greek positions near Kyrenia until dusk. By the end of the day, Turkish forces were estimated by the British at 10,000 soldiers, 44 tanks and 88 helicopters.

On July 22, Israeli radio reported that the Turkish destroyer " Kocatepe"The American building of the Gearing type, transferred to Turkey by the Americans in the early 70s, was sunk as a result of an erroneous bombing attack by the Turkish Air Force. The Turkish General Staff confirmed this information only on July 25. After that, the squadron command decided to move the position of the minesweeper "Rear Admiral Pershin" conducting surveillance of the Turkish forces much more seaward. EM "Flaming", catching up with the aircraft carrier "Hermes", northeast of Famagusta in the open sea, found three people on the water, holding onto the sides of a half-sunk boat. As it turned out, the Turkish Cypriots fled from the Greeks, who destroyed their village three days ago, they were at sea for three days, the boat leaked, their fourth comrade drowned. They were taken on board, dried, fed. The Commander-in-Chief ordered to transfer them to the first Turkish ship that came across.

The Americans talked a lot about the fact that there are several thousand American citizens on the island and they are sending an aircraft carrier and a helicopter carrier to Cyprus solely for the evacuation of citizens. The ships arrived, took advantageous combat positions, but the evacuation began only on July 22 from the British base of Larnaca, 466 civilians, of which 384 American citizens were evacuated by helicopters CH-46 and CH-53 of the 6th Fleet to the landing ship "Coronado" (LPD-11 ). The second group was evacuated on 24 July to the USS Inchon and the amphibious assault ship Trenton (LPD 14), the latter taking 286 people. Helicopter cover was provided by F-4 Phantom fighters from the Forrestol aircraft carrier.

On Tuesday, July 23, under pressure from the world community, active hostilities were stopped and a truce was declared. At noon on July 23, seven Greek F-4E fighters flew towards Cyprus, but their movement was detected by US Navy warships, the US immediately put pressure on Athens, and the Greek mission was aborted, they returned to their bases. This conflict, in addition to the military, had significant political results. The failure of the rebellion in Cyprus led to the discrediting of the Greek military junta, and on the evening of July 23, she ceded power to civilians, the government was headed by former Prime Minister Konstantin Karamanlis, who returned from exile. 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.

July 24 was evacuated Soviet people from Cyprus. In early publications, this was the central episode of participation Soviet ships in the "Cyprus conflict", he was described something like this. Our sailors acted decisively when it was necessary to urgently withdraw from the country a group of Soviet diplomats and their families, trade representatives, as well as a certain number of tourists. To do this, a large anti-submarine ship "Admiral Nakhimov" rapidly entered the port of Limassol, and was supported and covered by another BOD "Admiral Makarov". Not a single aircraft without identification and identification marks dared to approach or attack our ships . (Aleksishin V. “Notes of the flagship navigator”; j. “Typhoon” No. 2 1998, p. 27.) But in fact, everything was not like that, P.R. Dubyagin recalls: “ The whole day they were engaged in the evacuation of Soviet citizens from Cyprus. For this purpose, the Admiral Nakhimov BPC, SDK-82 and the motor ship MMF Bashkiria were allocated. The complexity of the task was that our people got on the English tanker "Olna". How and why this happened, no one really knew, and where this tanker was, too. In general, as in the war. From the General Staff of the Navy, it was proposed to request the English helicopter carrier Hermes or another English warship about this, in any case, find the Olna and transplant Soviet citizens. Additionally, the Krasny Kavkaz BPC was connected, which managed to contact the English patrol ship Andromeda. The liaison officer from the English skr said that our people had been landed on the British naval base, and handed over a map of the village of Limassol, where Bashkiria eventually entered, having previously landed thirteen communist Cypriots on SDK-82, somewhere she had picked up earlier. It was impossible to enter the port with them.

"Bashkiria" loaded Soviet citizens, through the British handed over food for the Soviet embassy and went to sea. But it was not possible to transplant the Cypriot communists back because of the weather; BPC "Admiral Nakhimov", SDK-82 and "Bashkiria" went to the east to look for weather for transplanting people.

An English liaison officer, handing over a map and information about the whereabouts of our citizens, handed a bottle of whiskey and the emblem of his ship to the senior officer of the Krasny Kavkaz as a souvenir, to which he received a bottle of vodka and a matryoshka in response. A precedent, and what a! We were strictly forbidden to enter into any contacts with NATO members, let alone accept gifts from them. And what was left for us to do if the commander-in-chief himself ordered to establish contact with the British?

In the morning, SDK-82 managed to transfer the Cypriots to the ship "Bashkiria", and she, with passengers on board, headed for the Aegean Sea, and then to Odessa". Although the BODs were in readiness for the landing. The landing platoon on the Admiral Makarov was led and seriously trained by the battalion commander of the 4th battery (MZA), Senior Lieutenant of Glukhover Alexander Petrovich, on whom the epigram was instantly born: "There is no beast in Cyprus more terrible than the paratrooper of Glukhover." On the same day, by order of the General Staff of the Navy, three Turkish Cypriots, rescued by the Plamenny EM, were transferred to the SDK-82, and he made the transition to Marmaris Bay and there transferred them to a Turkish military boat. The Turkish officer thanked our sailors for saving their compatriots.

At the end of July, the situation in Cyprus stabilized, but the Turks continue to transfer their forces to the island, their number was increased to 25 thousand people and 200 armored vehicles. By order of the Commander-in-Chief, ships not involved in tracking aircraft carriers were allowed to anchor at points No. 5 off Crete and No. 15. TFR "Marten", MTSCH "Rear Admiral Pershin", tanker "Grozny", "MB-130" and RFS "Lama" were drifting off the island of Koufonisi. Minister of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union A.A. Grechko sent a telegram to the command of the squadron with gratitude for skillful actions during the conflict

But do not think that the ships were simply anchored idle. There has always been work. This is how information was received that the Greeks on the island of Rhodes were preparing a landing force for landing on Cyprus. And although this was doubtful, given the change in leadership in Greece, the General Staff of the Navy ordered the ships of the squadron to conduct reconnaissance. Having received an order from the TFR, "Marten" went around the island clockwise, and the MTShch "Rear Admiral Pershin" (K-l Malyshev) - counterclockwise. They inspected all the bays, and made sure that there were no preparations for the landing.

On August 5, at 22.50, the commander-in-chief sent a telegram that the Minister of Defense had transferred the 5th squadron to daily readiness. Connections of Americans and British also returned to civilian life. As early as July 28, after the arrival of the aircraft carrier Independence in the Mediterranean Sea, the aircraft carrier America set off for the United States. Until 6 August, the ships of the 6th Fleet remained on high alert in the area as the situation remained tense on the island. But then the Americans and the British began to withdraw their ships from the Cyprus area. AUG with the aircraft carrier Forrestal moved west, apparently going to Naples. The Incheon helicopter carrier also headed for the Italian coast. British aircraft carrier "Hermes" - to Malta. The AUG, with the Independence aircraft carrier that arrived in the Mediterranean, was engaged in combat training south of the island of Cyprus.

The second conference on Cyprus between the Greeks and the Turks, which began on August 10 in Geneva, ended without results, and on August 14 the fighting resumed, at 8.00 the Turks began to bomb the Cypriot capital, international Airport. They fired at Famagusta from the sea and launched an offensive from the bridgehead in Kyrenia along the road to Nicosia and further to Famagusta. The Turks moved quickly without encountering much resistance. They captured the international airfield near Nicosia, and two days later, Turkish troops reached the border of the division of Cyprus (the Attila line) proposed earlier by the Turkish government. At the same time, they established control over the ports of Famagusta, Bogaz, Morphou and others. On August 14, Greece announced that it was withdrawing from NATO. On August 17, the Cypriot government announced that Turkish troops occupied up to 40% of the entire territory of the island. On August 18, the fire between the warring parties was ceased.

The squadron again set in motion, the Panther and SKR-77 RCs planned to return from Sevastopol were left in place, and the Grozny RC that came from Sevastopol with escort ships was transferred to point No. 15. But this time there was no high readiness introduced.

No sooner had the fighting died down than the situation escalated again. On August 19, protests began in Nicosia, accusing the Americans that they were to blame for the situation on the island, at the US Embassy, ​​the Marines used tear gas grenades to disperse the demonstrators, and American Ambassador Davis was killed from the crowd in response. On August 19, the US 6th Fleet again rushed to eastern part Mediterranean Sea. The squadron headquarters organized tracking of all groups, EM "Assertive" for the aircraft carrier "Independence", BOD "Red Caucasus" for the aircraft carrier "Forrestal", EM "Flaming" for the helicopter carrier "Incheon". Almost three/quarters of the 6th fleet, led by the flagship Little Rock, maneuvered north of Crete. The squadron moved its cruisers with escort ships to the same area. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said at a press conference that the United States cannot bring claims to the Cypriot government for the assassination of the ambassador. This continued until September 2, after which the last ships of the 6th Fleet resumed their daily tasks.

As a result, 40,000 Turkish troops captured and occupied 40 percent of the island's territory. The invaders expelled more than 200 thousand Greek Cypriots from their homes in the north of the country, more than a thousand to this day are considered missing. On February 13, 1975, the leadership of the Turkish community on the island of Cyprus unilaterally proclaimed a separate Turkish state entity in the northern part of the island. Thus, the country was actually divided into 2 parts. Thirty years have passed since then, but all the numerous attempts to solve the Cyprus problem have not yielded any results. On the contrary, a self-proclaimed puppet state entity appeared in the occupied territory - the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)

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 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 " green line”, separating Cyprus, is guarded by a 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.