Cyprus turkish greek conflict politico-geographical commentary. The Cyprus problem as a trump card in the Eastern Mediterranean. An excerpt characterizing the Cyprus conflict

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………3

ChapterI.

Stages of development of the Cyprus conflict…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

ChapterII.

The role of third parties in the Cyprus conflict………………………………………………………10

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………21

References………………………………………………………….25

Introduction

Few conflicts in human history have received as much attention as the Cyprus problem. The development of events in this state inspired alarm and was repeatedly discussed by the world community. Almost since 1964, this issue has been on the agenda of the UN Security Council and has remained the subject of heated discussions in the member states of the Council of Europe, NATO, the EU, etc. Almost every UN Secretary General dealt with this problem.

However, despite such interest on the part of international organizations and the world community, with all its political and legal levers, no one has been able to resolve the Cyprus conflict for 36 years.

For half a century, a stable structure of international relations has been formed around the Cyprus settlement, which has incorporated elements of interethnic conflict, national liberation struggle, interstate - bilateral and multilateral - confrontation, as well as features of a complex international problem with the participation of extra-regional, including multilateral, actors.

Many projects were created to resolve this conflict. The latest project proposed by the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on April 24, 2004 failed in a referendum, the Greek Cypriot side refused to support this plan. Today it can be stated that the outcome of the referendum is primarily a diplomatic failure of the UN, the US, the EU and the entire international community, which have not been able to work out a recipe for the unification of the island.

Currently, the Cyprus conflict is in a "frozen" form, i.e. since the 30 day war, there has not been a single open armed clash. However, Cyprus is split into 2 unequal parts and the problem of the Cyprus conflict is becoming a problem for the international community. The US and the EU are well aware that Cyprus, which occupies such an important geopolitical position in the Eastern Mediterranean, must finally become a zone of stability and prosperity for both communities. Cyprus, as a crossroads of two strategic geopolitical axes (the Black Sea, the straits from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea - to the north, the Middle East, Asia Minor, the Persian Gulf - to the south) is turning into an important element of European security, on which peace depends southern borders of Europe.

So why have the Great Powers and influential international organizations still failed to find a way to resolve the Cyprus conflict? Why has the conflict not been resolved for 36 years? Are there any prospects for resolving this conflict? Answering these questions is the main purpose of this essay.

The abstract consists of an introduction, two sections, a conclusion and a list of references.

ChapterI.

Stages of development of the Cyprus conflict

The Cyprus issue has been one of the pressing problems in the world community for more than fifty years. As you know, the history of Cyprus is rich in events related to the national liberation movement of the Cypriots. In the 14th century, Fr. Cyprus was captured by the Turks and incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. In 1878, the British achieved an agreement with the Turkish Sultan and gained complete control over the island. After the Second World War, the Cypriot struggle for independence took on the character of an armed uprising against British domination. In response, the British began to contribute to inciting ethnic hatred between the Greek majority and the Turkish minority of the population of Cyprus, supporting the claims of the Turkish government to own part of the island. During the discussion of the Cyprus issue in the NATO Council, agreements on granting independence to Cyprus were signed on a compromise basis (August 16, 1960).

July 1974 is considered to be the beginning of the “Cyprus problem”, when the Turkish leadership decided to land a 40,000-strong military contingent on the island, 37% of whose territory, subsequently, was under Turkish control. However, the real date of the problem must be considered 1956, which arose as a result of Turkey's official accusation of the Greek government in its attempts to annex the island to Greek territory. Moreover, it should be noted that Archbishop Makarios, later the President of the Republic of Cyprus, himself provoked Turkey to these actions, making a statement about his readiness and intention to fight for exclusively “Greek Cyprus”, not excluding the use of force.

The following stages of the Cyprus conflict can be distinguished:

Stage 1 (1958-1960):

The Turkish and Greek parts of the population of the island launched large-scale military actions, to a greater extent, representing terrorist actions. Which in turn led to serious consequences in 1958, when the island was on the verge of a civil war. In connection with the outbreak of a military conflict in Cyprus, which at that time was under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, the US government proposed to negotiate with the aim of resolving the conflict peacefully, where the White House would act as a mediator. These negotiations resulted in the Zurich-London Accords of 1959. It should be noted that the peculiarity of the document was that along with “granting independence to Cyprus”, the UK retained: all military bases on the island, the right to use territorial waters, airspace for military purposes, as well as the right to interfere in the internal affairs of the Republic of Cyprus countries - guarantors (Great Britain, Turkey and Greece). However, at the meeting, the participants announced a complete rejection of their intentions to annex or divide the territory of the island. The side that caught the other side in actions contrary to the terms of the agreements reserved the right to intervene, as well as military.

Stage 2 (1960-1974):

In 1960, after the entry into force of the Zurich-London Accords, the Republic of Cyprus gained independence from Great Britain, but both sides, both Greek and Turkish, were not satisfied with the terms of the agreement. Moreover, against the backdrop of dissatisfaction, the Greek side, represented by President Makarios, made proposals to amend the country's Constitution, abolishing the right of veto reserved for the vice-president of the Republic of Cyprus representing the Turkish minority. The official refusal of the Turkish government, as a result, led to armed clashes on ethnic grounds. In order to normalize the situation on the island, it was decided to introduce a UN peacekeeping contingent to Cyprus, which subsequently divided the island into two parts - the northern part, populated mainly by Turks, and the southern part, with a predominantly Greek population.

Stage 3 (1974-1983)

On July 15, 1974, as a result of a military coup organized by the Greek junta, President Makarios was removed from power in Cyprus. Power passed to the military leadership, pursuing the goal of the "Great Idea", the so-called "enosis", i.e. annexation of the entire island to Greece.

Meanwhile, the Turkish leadership, opposing the annexation of Cyprus to Greece, decided to send an armed army to Cyprus, arguing this action as a violation of the Zurich-London Agreements of 1959, which essentially granted Turkey the right to send its troops to the island. Soon, in the northern part of the island, which was under the control of the Turkish military leadership, almost the entire Greek population was expelled.

In the summer of 1974, immediately after the occupation of the northern part of Cyprus by Turkey, the first round of trilateral peace talks took place in Geneva with the participation of the foreign ministers of Greece, Turkey and Great Britain. Following the meeting, the parties agreed to establish a ceasefire. However, the second stage of the negotiations, which took place in the same composition, but with the participation of representatives of the Turkish and Greek population of Cyprus, led to the complete failure of all agreements, moreover, the "Cyprus problem" became even more pronounced. All subsequent attempts to peacefully resolve the problematic issue, undertaken over the course of thirty years, did not lead to its resolution.

Under the terms of the peace agreement of 1975, the Turkish Federative State of Northern Cyprus (TFHSC) was created, which was part of the state of Cyprus. However, the reservations set out in the agreement regarding the revision of the status of the federation, as well as the creation of its own constitution, were not supported by the Cypriot government and the international community. As a result of eight years of negotiations, in 1983 Northern Cyprus declared its independence. The new self-proclaimed state was named the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, later officially recognized only by Ankara.

Stage 4 (1990-2004)

Meanwhile, the official filing of an application by the Republic of Cyprus for membership in the European Union in 1990 caused a special aggravation in the "Cyprus problem", which is undoubtedly a sore point of Turkish diplomacy. The move provoked strong protests from Turkey and Northern Cyprus. The parties referred to the fact that the Republic of Cyprus was not authorized to act as an independent international entity, since the issue of the status of the island had not been resolved.

However, Cyprus' application for EU membership was granted at the end of 2002. Moreover, Belgium agreed with the arguments of Turkey that the decision to accept Cyprus as part of Europe should have been decided in relation to the entire island, and not its individual parts.

The plan for the Cyprus settlement (the Annan plan) proposed by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2003 was, in fact, the only serious attempt to resolve the problematic issue. This project actually provided for the creation of a confederal republic, consisting of two equal states - Turkish and Greek, with an independent parliament and a bicameral legislative assembly. Moreover, Turkey received the right to maintain its military contingent on the island, and it was also provided for the legal force of the agreements signed between the TRNC and Turkey, which allowed both parties to use the entire sea and air space of the island.

However, in a referendum held on April 24, 2004, the Greek population of Cyprus rejected the Annan plan with 76% of the votes, while the Turkish part voted 67% in favor. Thus, the Greek part, as the Republic of Cyprus recognized by the international community, became a full member of the European Union, and the status of the northern part of the island is still unresolved.

Nevertheless, this cannot be considered a “failure” of Turkish diplomacy, on the contrary, this action must be regarded as a diplomatic victory for Turkey, since in this case Ankara was in favor of a peaceful settlement of the Cyprus problem, while the Greek side held the opposite point of view.

Stage 5 (2004-2010)

With regard to the Cyprus process, after a certain transitional period - to restart the full-scale negotiation process in 2004-2007. failed - there have been some progress. After the election (February 2008) of D. Christofias as the President of the Republic of Cyprus, he had a number of meetings with the leader of the Turkish Cypriots M.A. Talat. As a result, under the auspices of the UN, it was possible to resume first negotiations within the framework of "technical" committees of experts and working groups, and then, from September 3, 2008, a full-scale intercommunal negotiation process in order to achieve a comprehensive and lasting settlement. Perhaps, for the first time in decades, the simplest and most promising negotiation model is being implemented in Cyprus: "the solution of the Cyprus problem belongs to the Cypriots themselves." The leaders of the Cypriot communities independently conduct, under the auspices of the UN, the search for a solution that would meet the interests of all Cypriots: both Greeks and Turks. However, in the presidential elections in the TRNC in April 2010, an ardent nationalist, the leader of the National Unity Party, Dervis Erolglu, won a very conservative position on the issue of the unification of the island. Eroglu openly does not oppose the unification of the island. After the election results were announced, he stated that negotiations would continue. However, he does not advocate complete unification, but the creation of a confederation of two states. This position absolutely does not suit the Republic of Cyprus and does not find support from the UN. Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias said before the elections that he did not intend to continue negotiations with Northern Cyprus if Eroglu came to power in the unrecognized republic.

Thus, the conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots is deeply rooted in history. The Cyprus conflict, lasting for such a long period of time, is an example of the fact that protracted conflicts cannot be resolved quickly and painlessly.

ChapterII.

The role of third parties in the settlement

Cyprus conflict

UN and the Cyprus problem

The conflict in Cyprus has been going on for more than four decades, during which time the UN has taken and continues to take an active part in helping to resolve this problem.

Several UN bodies were included in the settlement of the conflict: - the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly and, of course, the UN Secretary General.

In general, it can be said that UN peacekeeping activities in Cyprus have been carried out and are being carried out mainly in 2 directions:

Preventive activities from the emergence of a new bloodshed between the communities (creation of armed forces in Cyprus).

Overcoming the conflict, stabilizing the situation, establishing calm and peace (providing good offices, mediation, etc.).

In highlighting the role of the UN in relation to Cyprus, it is important to consider the negotiations between the communities, the first of which began in 1968-1974. (they can be divided into main stages: 1968-1971 and 1972-1974).

These negotiations began with the events of 1967, when the two guarantor states found themselves on the verge of war with each other. In Beirut, after an exchange of views between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides, the latter agreed to start direct negotiations in Cyprus with the participation of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General as an observer. No compromise was reached during the negotiations.

Greek Cypriot proposals to create a unitary sovereign and independent state with a constitution adopted by the people of Cyprus and based on the principles of democracy and the UN Charter, to provide all citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan with equal and full rights (including free movement, etc.); ensuring autonomy for the Turkish Cypriots in matters of education, culture, religion and personal status did not find support from the other side, and negotiations actually stopped in the summer of 1971. It became clear that an acceptable solution could not be found without the decisive participation of the international community.

In 1974, due to known circumstances, all contacts between the parties were terminated and the UN was faced with the task of immediately ensuring stability and eliminating the explosive situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, which threatened European and international security.

The most important milestone was the year 2002, when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on November 11 proposed to the parties his version of a solution called "Basis for an agreement on a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem." This draft has been revised many times and was finalized on March 31, 2004. This document revealed the most developed UN project in relation to Cyprus.

According to this project, the United Republic of Cyprus will be organized in accordance with its Constitution on the basis of the principles of democratic law, representative republican government, political equality of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, duality and equal status of constituent states.

Both constituent states have the freedom to self-organize within the framework of the Constitution of the United Republic of Cyprus in accordance with the basic principles of law, democracy and representative republican government in accordance with their own constitutions. The Constitution defines the special rights, powers, and functions vested in the Federal Government. Other rights, powers and functions are assigned to the constituent states.

The Fundamental Agreement proposes a federal structure that (a) reflects and guarantees the political equality of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, moreover, democratically reflects the significantly larger Greek Cypriot population; and (b) contains unshakable guarantees against the dominance of one side over the other, while ensuring the effective functioning of the Government.

The issue of ownership was particularly acute. The Annan Plan proposed 2 methods by which property problems would be solved, which would differ depending on the location of such property:

a) If the property in question is located in an area that will be subject to a territorial review, the title to the property will generally be decided by restitution.

b) If the property in question is located in the territory of another constituent state, then the property rights will be exercised by restitution or effective compensation, or by sale, lease or exchange. Each case is considered separately.

Any owner dispossessed will have the right to claim full and effective compensation. Owners who are dispossessed, who opt for compensation, or whose property cannot be returned under property return plans, will be entitled to full and effective compensation.

With all this, the Annan Plan had its drawbacks. About 75% of the Greek Cypriots spoke out against the Annan Plan. They were not satisfied with the Annan plan because it did not contain obligations for the Turkish side to withdraw troops from Cyprus, and also allowed settlers from Turkey to live on the island, which called into question the possibility of returning Greek refugees, because many of their houses have long since found new owners - immigrants from Turkey. Professor Andreas Theofanus presented a general assessment of the situation. He said the real purpose of the Annan plan was not to solve the Cyprus problem, but to advance the broader goals of freeing Turkey from responsibility for the invasion, furthering its EU accession goals, and furthering US plans related to the Middle East.

The Annan plan had many contradictions in solving economic, state-administrative issues; there is a problem of return of refugees. One of the main contradictions was also in resolving questions about the location of Turkish troops.

The UN plan does not offer a clear compensation scheme for lost property to Greek Cypriots who left it in Northern Cyprus as a result of the events of 1974. There are no recipes in the plan for solving other issues related to the property of refugees. In particular, the plan did not allow representatives of Southern Cyprus to purchase property in Northern Cyprus, and also limited the rights of Greek Cypriots wishing to return to their homes in the Turkish sector of the island.

The plan also did not take into account the economic gap between north and south. As the Vremya Novostei newspaper noted (April 25, 2004), “taking into account large payments for lost property and the need to bring the North up to the level of a more developed South, the unification would cost $6 billion. The EU and the US promised about $2.5 billion, the rest would come from the taxpayers, mostly the more affluent Greek Cypriots.”

Annan did not take into account the fact that the influx of immigrants from Turkey to Northern Cyprus is increasing, which, according to the Greek Cypriots, can lead to a serious ethnic imbalance on the island.

Naturally, the Greek side of Cyprus saw the support of the Turkish part in this plan and it is not surprising that it refused to support this plan in a referendum.

Despite all its shortcomings, Kofi Annan's plan nevertheless brought together the positions of the communities on most issues related to the creation of a single state. It can become a worthy basis for a new, possibly more effective project of the Cypriot unification.

After the failure of the Annan Plan, a kind of transitional process began. In the period from 2004-2007. The UN failed to launch full-scale negotiations. Finally, from September 2008 to August 2009, the first stage of intercommunal negotiations takes place under the auspices of the UN in order to resolve the Cyprus problem. The second stage of the negotiations started on September 10, 2009. During the two years of negotiations, more than 80 meetings of the leaders took place, as a result of which they achieved certain progress only on some issues of settlement. At the end of March 2010, negotiations were suspended due to the presidential elections in the TRNC. Negotiations resumed in May 2010. On October 30, a UN official announced that, at the invitation of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the leaders of the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus would hold talks on November 11 at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The organization has done and is doing a lot to resolve the Cyprus conflict: this is a constant concern about the state of affairs on the island, and a position about the unacceptability of the status quo, attempts to establish contacts between the parties (the credit for this mainly belongs to the UN, in particular, to the Secretary General) - all this has created conditions so that the conflict does not freeze, does not lead to action by the parties concerned in accordance with the formula of "fait accompli". In any case, there are still many contradictions, differences in opinions and approaches, but the UN's activities to resolve the conflict remain significant and, perhaps, it is this activity that will lead to the final comprehensive resolution of the conflict in Cyprus.

The EU and the Cyprus problem.

The position of the European Union on the Cyprus problem is clearly defined: the EU stands for a solution that respects the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of the country, in accordance with the well-known UN resolutions on Cyprus and high-level agreements. The position of the EU, which considers unacceptable the status quo resulting from the Turkish invasion in 1974 and the continued occupation of about 35% of the island by Turkish troops, was made public in a number of documents adopted at the European Council summits, in particular, in Dublin (26.06.90) , Lisbon (27.06.92), and others. In recent years, this position of the EU was voiced, for example, in a statement by its chairman (31.10.2000), who, on behalf of the European Union, said the following: "The European Union considers the situation in Cyprus unacceptable supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General towards a negotiated, comprehensive, just and lasting settlement based on the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council."
The European Parliament has also taken a clear and firm position on the Cyprus issue. In his resolution of June 13, 2002, he confirmed that only one sovereign Cypriot state would be allowed to join the EU. The European Parliament noted that "in accordance with the resolutions of the UN Security Council, this state can be bi-zonal and bi-communal, but at the international level it must act as a single functioning entity and be able to exercise power capable of making decisions."

It was also stated that "whatever constitutional settlement the parties come to, fundamental freedoms and human rights must be fully respected, and that any contradictions arising from the settlement should be resolved as part of the pre-accession process, because no there can be no departure from the principles on which the European Union is founded (in particular in the field of human rights)."
The Cypriot government was convinced that the country's accession to the EU could contribute to finding a solution to the political problem - and this belief is largely shared by the EU itself.

Years of negotiations mediated by the UN on the unification of the island and the withdrawal of Turkish troops did not bring results. The “Annana” plan in the referendum in 2004 was not supported by the Greek Cypriots, although Brussels strongly supported the plan, it nevertheless allowed the Greek Cypriots from May 1, 2004 to join the EU as the sole representatives of the island.

One of the first actions of the Republic of Cyprus as a member state was to block the Direct Trade Regulation, which would have given Turkish Cypriots direct access to EU markets. The Greek Cypriot embargo against Turkish Cypriots was criticized by the UN Secretary General as a "genuine siege".

In 2004, the EU made a decision (later recognized by a number of European leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as erroneous) to grant full membership to the Republic of Cyprus, although the problem of the status of the northern part of the island has not yet been resolved. Moreover, the Europeans neglected the factor of geographical belonging to Europe: formally, Cyprus is located in Asia. This decision turned out to be a time bomb in the negotiation process with Turkey.

Moreover, the EU is putting strong pressure on Turkey, which is forced to make concessions to the Greek side of Cyprus by threatening to suspend negotiations on its accession to the EU.

On September 21, 2005, the EU stated that it recognizes only one government in Cyprus and Turkey should recognize the Republic of Cyprus in the framework of the negotiation process and open its ports and airports to it. EU leaders continued to put strong pressure on Ankara and openly stated that if Turkey did not open its ports and airports to the Greek Cypriots, then the negotiation process could be suspended.

The European Union faces the imperative to do everything possible to push the Greek Cypriots and the Turks to their satisfactory conclusion. In an interview with Euronews, R. Erdogan said: “The EU bears a great responsibility for the current impasse in Cyprus. He made a historic mistake by accepting Southern Cyprus. Mr. Schroeder sharply criticized the EU policy, he said that Northern Cyprus was treated immorally. We do not speculate on this issue. Members of the EU will still remember the mistake they made. History will put everything in its place."

The difficulty of uniting the island is not commensurate with the likely complications in case of failure. EU governments will face a choice between loyalty to a member state and important strategic interests in Turkey. The failure of the talks will mean further impediments to EU-NATO cooperation, continued blocking of the opening of new partitions and possibly a complete suspension of talks between the EU and Turkey.

For decades, Cyprus has remained peaceful, but the EU's actions have upset the delicate balance of the existing status quo. Given the presence of tens of thousands of soldiers on the island, the conflict could be unfrozen. By accepting the Greek part of Cyprus into its ranks, the EU brought the virus of the island's tangled history into its internal structures.

Great Britain and the Cyprus conflict.

Cyprus has a special relationship with Great Britain. Since 1878, Cyprus was under British colonial domination until about 1960, when the Republic of Cyprus gained independence as a result of the national liberation struggle, but Great Britain still influences the politics of Cyprus. Along with Greece and Turkey, Great Britain acts as a guarantor of security for the participants in the Cyprus conflict.

However, the role of Great Britain as an independent third party is increasingly questioned by historians and conflictologists. It becomes obvious that British policy is based not so much on the desire to resolve the conflict and achieve the unification of the southern and northern sides of Cyprus, but on maintaining the military and political interests of England and its military and political presence on the island.

In early January 2005, the British Foreign Office handed over for public disclosure documents relating to the double game of its political elite in 1974.
For three decades, the British Foreign Office did not want to make public a number of documents that became the key to the events of that time. According to them, it is now clear that the British government assured both the Greek and Turkish sides of its support, which became the "green light" for the invasion of Turkish troops in Cyprus.
Government spokesman Kypros Christosomidis said on this occasion that the position of the UK does not correspond to its role as a guarantor of the security of Cyprus. However, it has now become known that although Great Britain considered sending 12,000 soldiers to help Cyprus, the decision was made not to send troops as a result.
Less than 60 hours before the invasion took place, the British Prime Minister made a promise to his Turkish counterpart Balent Ekevit not to interfere with the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Moreover, Ekevit asked to be allowed to send troops through the territories of the British military bases in Cyprus! After some reflection on the legal implications of such a permit, the Foreign Minister stated that this was not possible.
The Turkish minister also expressed the hope that England would not interfere with the invasion, and also persuade the United States to do so. In response, the Foreign Minister suggested that trilateral discussions be held first before any unilateral action was taken, but Ekevit could not be persuaded. "Direct and effective action is needed," he replied.
The release of secret documents from the Foreign Office caused a strong reaction in Cyprus and sharp criticism of the British policy towards the Cyprus problem.
The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dimitris Christofias, said that these documents prove once again that the actions of England were always directed not in favor of Cyprus. He accused the UK of preferring to promote disorder in Cyprus, instead of jointly solving the Cyprus problem. According to him, to this day this is carried out "in order to maintain the military-political interests of England and its military-political presence on the island."
DIKO Deputy President Nikos Cleanthous has criticized the UK for failing even today to fulfill its basic obligations as a security guarantor and not making a positive contribution to finding a solution to the Cyprus problem.

The role of Great Britain in the preparation and implementation of the Zurich-London agreements of 1959 is also ambiguously assessed in Cyprus. The power that guarantees the independence of Cyprus (Guarantor Power), the UK remains to this day. The 1959 treaty has not been canceled. At the same time, part of the British Overseas Territories is located on the territory of Cyprus: the naval bases of Dhekelia and Akrotiri. These databases and their ambiguous status represent a unique case in world history and politics. Many states have their military bases on the territory of other states, but only Great Britain had the courage to declare the territory of the bases its own. The Republic of Cyprus demands the return of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, citing the fact that these bases occupy a large area that can be used for development. Britain does not intend to cede the bases, but it has offered to give Cyprus about a third of the territory of the bases as part of the Annan plan to unify Cyprus.

London, however, has been betting on a friendlier strategy in recent years. Within the framework of the English Parliament, a “Society of Friends of Cyprus” was created, the methods of public diplomacy are used, and in 2008 a “Memorandum of Understanding” was signed between the two countries. It implies, first of all, the attitude of the parties to the difficult historical events of the last century.

Türkiye and Greece in the Cyprus conflict.

Historically, there have been many disagreements between Turkey and Greece.

Between them, the issues of dividing the territorial waters, shelf and airspace in the Aegean Sea, the treatment of the Turkish minority in Thrace, the provision of assistance and support to the PKK from Greece were not resolved. Since 1984, the PKK and the Turkish government have been in a state of civil war. The most striking confrontation between these countries is the Cyprus conflict. Initially, Greece advocated granting the right to self-determination to the people of Cyprus (in the future, however, not excluding far-reaching consequences). The Turkish position was to support the current status quo on the island by any means, i.e. the aspiration of the Turks was the continuation of the sovereignty of Britain. Any change in the status of Cyprus, even a very small one in favor of the Greeks, was meant to create the first step towards enosis.

TRNC President Denktash, relying on Turkey's support, insisted on a "confederation" consisting of two independent states. Clerides, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, supported by Greece, put forward the condition that any agreement should be based on a "bi-zone" and "bi-communal" solution. This once again highlights the irreconcilable confrontation between Greece and Turkey.

Ankara will obviously continue to provide financial and military support to Northern Cyprus, so the TRNC is completely dependent on Turkey. The Republic of Cyprus, in turn, claims to have a strong military alliance with Greece and that the latter will come to the rescue if Turkey launches an attack on the S-300 deployment areas. (Turkey bought S-300 missiles from Russia)

In late 1998, it became clear that the "missile crisis" in Cyprus, as a symbol of the entire conflict, is inextricably linked to the wider geopolitical and geostrategic interests of Greece and Turkey. Greece has made or sought to make alliances with Syria, Armenia, Iran, Egypt and Russia against Turkey.

Turkey signed in 1996 agreements on cooperation in the military and intelligence field with Israel, and in 1998 their relationship took on the character of an alliance. In the summer of 1998, Turkish pilots were trained in Israel in the tactics of disabling S-300 missiles. Turkey's cooperation with Israel was meant to demonstrate their intention to increase their military power in the almost entirely Greek-controlled Aegean and in the eastern Mediterranean. In 1999, the Cypriot government refused to place Russian missiles on the island; instead, they will be installed on the Greek island of Crete. The significant strategic importance of Cyprus to the security plans of Greece and Turkey indicates the unlikely possibility that the conflict between the Republic of Cyprus and the TRNC could be unexpectedly resolved by a war between Greece and Turkey. The EU, US, NATO and UN strongly oppose hostilities between Turks and Greeks in Cyprus or between Turkey and Greece.

Also, the Cyprus conflict is almost the main obstacle to Turkey's accession to the EU. Greece has long been using the issue of the unification of Cyprus in its relations with Ankara. Using its influence on the process of negotiations on the unification of Cyprus, Greece has long been bargaining for relief from Turkey, therefore, by preventing the reunification of Cyprus, Greece postpones the moment of agreements between Turkey and the EU, thereby reducing Turkey's influence. Therefore, in the event of the unification of the island, Athens would lose leverage on Ankara.

However, recently Athens and Ankara reached a preliminary agreement on cooperation and mutual understanding in the military sphere. This should help Greece reduce its military budget in the face of the country's worst financial crisis.

All this once again confirms that the countries participating in the settlement of the Cyprus conflict are primarily interested in their more advantageous positions than in the reunification of Northern and Southern Cyprus, and international organizations make many mistakes that lead to even greater integration of Cyprus. This is one of the main reasons why the conflict between the opposing sides for almost 36 years cannot be resolved.

Conclusion

The history of the separation of the Greek and Turkish communities of the island of Cyprus is very instructive. Despite the severity of long intercommunal armed clashes, the invasion of the Turkish army, and then the occupation of its northern part by the Turkish "limited contingent", it remained the only conflict in modern history that was successfully "frozen": to prevent the likelihood of its further aggravation, and most importantly, to stop further internationalization crisis.

However, it was not so easy to resolve the "frozen" conflict. For more than 36 years, the world community has been powerless to solve the problem of the Cyprus conflict.

What is happening to Cyprus now is exactly what happens to any disease in a state of extreme neglect: the population of both halves no longer sees the point in treatment and believes that the best remedy is surgery and amputation. The main problem is that the island of Aphrodite was cut into two unequal parts for too long. At first glance, the main reason why the Turkish and Greek parts of Cyprus cannot reach a consensus in disagreements regarding the state structure on the island. It seems that the parties came to an agreement on the form of the state (federation), but entered into disagreements regarding the elements and structure of the federal government. The Greek side advocates a federal state with a strong central federal government (similar to a unitary state), while the Turkish Cypriot side demands a form of federation close to a confederation. The Greek side refuses to recognize the equality of the Turkish Cypriots and insists on a policy of turning the Turkish Cypriots into a national minority.

However, even if a political agreement is reached, it will by no means be a complete solution to the problem. Especially when you consider what is right now that prevents "gluing the island together."

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 Anatalia. After all, after the invasion of 1974, more than 100 thousand people were resettled to the island from Turkey in order to strengthen the “Turkish component”.

The entry of the Greek part into the European Union significantly undermined the faith in the "united Europe" in the north as an objective arbitrator and mediator. Initially, joining the EU was supposed to be a “prize” for two for unification, but in the end the “prize” was given to one side, which also failed the referendum on the adoption of the provisions of the Annan Plan.

An important reason preventing the unification of the island is also a large gap in the economic development of the two parts of the island. The northern part, which is in economic and political isolation, lags behind the economically developed southern part in many ways. The system of economic assistance proposed in the UN plan is far from perfect and does not take into account many features of the Cypriot economy.

Most likely, Cyprus will have to come out of the coma, in which the settlement has actually again found itself, slowly, and one should not count on a quick resolution of the problem. But the island should not hesitate either, otherwise it will be too late to “glue” its two halves - the young generations of Cypriots will get used to the separation so much that they will lose the desire to break the status quo. Today, according to public opinion polls on the Greek side, only those over 50 are firmly in favor of reunification. On the Turkish side, 85% no longer believe that this will be possible at all.

And we can assume that they are right, at least for the foreseeable future. This is explained by the fact that in April 2010, an ardent nationalist, leader of the National Unity Party, Dervis Erolglu, won the next presidential election in the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He "knocked out" the moderate Turkish leader Mehmet Ali Talat. The latter warned on the eve of the elections that the victory of the "tough" nationalist would mean the death of settlement negotiations. The leader of the National Unity Party has repeatedly said that the Turkish Cypriots should "declare themselves as a powerful ethnic movement", give up illusions and make a choice "in favor of independence." Dervis Eroglu spoke a lot about the financial costs of a possible merger. Indeed, the arrival of a more powerful Greek business to the north would be a problem for many small and medium businessmen of Turkish nationality. Also, Dervis Eroglu does not hide the fact that Turkey's support will be lost with the unification, and this is about 30% of the state. TRNC budget. This rhetoric was positively perceived by the Turkish society, which became disillusioned with the peaceful rhetoric of the UN and the EU, not seeing pragmatic benefits for themselves in it. And in this sense, Annan's plan of six years ago can also be considered a prerequisite for the results that were obtained in the elections. Exaggerated expectations and hopes for a peace process (not supported by pragmatics, but, on the contrary, reinforced by abstractions), were replaced in the Turkish part of Cyprus by disappointment and a throw to the nationalist extreme.
It is important to take into account the religious, linguistic, cultural differences between the conflicting parties and take into account the influence of these factors on the unification process.

All these grounds lead to the obvious thesis: Cyprus is unlikely to become united in the near future. However, it cannot be denied that it is possible to find ways to resolve the conflict within the existing circumstances.

First of all, it is necessary to achieve a consensus on the form of the state structure, taking into account all the nuances and desires of the parties. Because in Cyprus there are really two separate authorities, the best solution would be a federal state form. It should be clarified that in this case, the federation will be understood as a state consisting of two equal units having a single sovereignty and international legal personality, a single citizenship, a single currency and, at a minimum, federal jurisdiction over foreign affairs, security and finance. Given the linguistic, national, cultural and religious differences, a certain autonomy of the parties is necessary. Relations between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities are not the interaction of a minority and a majoritarian majority, but are a relationship of two equal communities and therefore should be built on an equal basis. Therefore, the form of federation should be closer to the confederation, however, many scientists dealing with this problem do not deny the distant unitarization with significant autonomy of the parties.

Despite all its shortcomings, Kofi Annan's plan nevertheless brought together the positions of the communities on most issues related to the creation of a single state. On the basis of this plan, it would be possible to create a more effective project of the Cypriot unification. Given the economic gap between the parties, as well as better methods of solving problems regarding the distribution of property and payment of compensation. Reducing the gap between the economies of Northern and Southern Cyprus is possible due to the abolition by the Greek side of the political, and most importantly economic, embargo of the TRNC, and in the future the full (and not partial, as at the moment) entry of Cyprus into the European Union.

Also, one of the most important criteria for the settlement of the Cyprus conflict is the non-interference of other states (including the guarantor states). This idea is most fully reflected in the statement of Russian Prime Minister Sergei Lavrov: “Every conflict has its own history, but all of them can be resolved only on the basis of the consent of the parties. And the international community must act on the principle of "do no harm." Look at the extremely cautious approach everyone takes to settling, say, the Middle East conflict. And here - with regard to the Cyprus settlement - this question should be left to the parties themselves, especially since, compared with the Middle East crisis, the progress in the negotiations on the Cyprus settlement is much more significant.

However, all this is quite difficult to implement at the present time, because. at the moment, the negotiations do not bring any significant results, it is possible that it will possibly lead to a freezing of the peace process for an indefinite period. Therefore, it is not possible to talk about the prospects for the settlement of the Cyprus conflict and the unification of the conflicting parties at this stage. However, much depends on ordinary people living in both confrontational parts of Cyprus, whose votes in the presidential and parliamentary elections will determine the vector of direction in the Cyprus conflict. First of all, the sincere desire of the communities themselves to finally resolve this conflict is important.

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35 years of the Cyprus conflict: who will "glue" the island?

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

It all started much earlier and not even as far back as 1960. In fact, a land mine called the "Cyprus problem" was laid many centuries ago.

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

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

RECENT PAST

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

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

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

CHRONICLE OF OPPOSITION

First wave

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

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

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

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

Second wave

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CONSEQUENCES

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

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

Cyprus conflict

Cyprus conflict, or Cyprus dispute- a territorial conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in relation to the island of Cyprus, which is now actually an island state in the Mediterranean Sea.

Since the arrival of the British military contingent on the island, the Cyprus dispute has been defined as "a conflict between the peoples of Cyprus and Britain as colonial rulers". However, today the United Nations and, more recently, the European Union are taking part in solving this problem.

Background of the conflict

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Cyprus conflict

Since the 1950s, when huge oil reserves were discovered in the Middle East, Cyprus, due to its location in the immediate vicinity of this region, has acquired the most important geostrategic importance. Another defining moment of interest in owning the island was the ability to intervene from its territory in conflicts in the region.

On the basis of the Zurich-London agreements signed in February 1959, Turkey, Greece and Great Britain became the guarantors of the Cypriot constitution and the territorial integrity of the island. At the same time, the Turkish Cypriots especially insisted that they be considered not as a minority, but as one of the two equal co-founding communities of the new state. Therefore, in order to avoid conflicts after independence, Great Britain tried to develop a constitution for the future republic that would allow both communities to live on the island, creating a system of legal balances. With the adoption of the Cypriot constitution in August 1960, the island was declared a binational republic.

Enosis, joining Greece, was forbidden. In addition, Cyprus was forbidden to enter into any alliances that did not include Turkey and Greece. A Greek became the President of the Republic of Cyprus, and a Turk became Vice-President. Both of them were elected by the population for five years: the president - by the Greek community, the vice-president - by the Turkish. On all decisions relating to issues of foreign policy, defense and security, they both had the right of veto. Seven ministers in a cabinet of ten were Greeks and three were Turks. The constitution provided an opportunity for Greek and Turkish deputies to separately decide on issues related to electoral legislation, the introduction of duties and taxes. Both communities retained autonomy in resolving their internal issues. In parliament, 35 Greek deputies were opposed by 15 Turkish parliamentarians, and in the emerging army, the ratio should generally be 6 to 4, despite the fact that the Greek Cypriots made up 77% of the island's population, and the Turks - a little more than 18%. The fact that the latter received a disproportionate 30% representation in state institutions created the ground for new conflicts.

The situation was aggravated by the fact that relations between Turkey and Greece were also quite tense. Cyprus conflict - a territorial conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in relation to the island of Cyprus, is now actually an island state in the Mediterranean Sea. Since the arrival of the British military contingent on the island, the Cyprus dispute has been defined as "a conflict between the peoples of Cyprus and Britain as colonial rulers".

Today, however, Turkey, Greece, Great Britain, the United States, the United Nations, and, more recently, the European Union are taking part in solving this problem.

In 1960, Cyprus gained independence from Great Britain, colonized the island in the second half of the 19th century, all Great Britain left behind two military bases located near the cities of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The new Constitution proclaimed the existence of two communities: Greek (80% of the island's population) and Turkish (18%). The inequality of the ethnic quotas prescribed in the main document of the state immediately caused discontent among the Turkish community. Even at the level of state administration, the communities refused to comply with decisions that were made by the opposite side.

In 1963, the gradually building tension exploded with numerous ethnic cleansings on both sides. In order to attempt to resolve the situation, already in 1964 a UN peacekeeping contingent was deployed on the island, which remained in Cyprus for another ten years. independence cyprus conflict european union

In 1974, the military junta of the "Black Colonels" came to power in Greece. The Turkish authorities, seeing this as a danger to Cyprus, brought in a thirty thousandth military corps and very quickly occupied about 35% of the island's territory. The Greek community had to flee south, the violence continued for several more months.

In 1975, Cyprus was finally divided into a southern Greek part and a northern Turkish part. Under the control of UN peacekeepers, the mutual resettlement of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots was carried out. The conflicting parties were separated by the so-called "green line" - the UN buffer zone. The country was riddled with foreign borders, a physical and social barrier was created between the Greek and Turkish communities.

In 1983, the northern Turkish community self-proclaimed itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, this act was condemned by a UN Security Council resolution and declared legally invalid, and so far only Turkey has recognized the newly formed state.

At the beginning of the 21st century At the initiative of the UN, an attempt was made to finally resolve the Cyprus problem. On April 24, 2004, a referendum was held in which 75% of the Greeks opposed and 65% of the Turkish community supported the unification of the country in accordance with the Annan Plan.

In the same 2004, Cyprus became a member of the European Union, but de facto only the southern Greek part of the island joined it. 2005 The European Commission during the negotiations on Turkey's accession to the European Union demanded from the latter the recognition of the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus.

In 2008, Demetris Christofias won the presidential election, who, even during the election campaign, promised to immediately resume negotiations on reunification. On March 21, 2008, in the buffer zone of the capital of Cyprus, the city of Nicosia, negotiations were held with the leader of the Turkish Cypriots, Mehmet Ali Talat. On April 3, 2008, barriers were removed on Ledra Nicosia Street, which were installed here back in 1960 in the presence of a large Greek and Turkish community.

Later, during the spring - summer of 2008, a series of conciliatory negotiations were held, already on June 1, a fundamental concept for the introduction of single citizenship and ensuring the single sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus was prepared. In September, President Christofias called for the demilitarization of Nicosia. Actually, during the autumn - winter of 2008, the federal government bodies were coordinated. The prepared reunification plan is planned to be submitted to a referendum of both communities.

In 2011, a dispute arose between Cyprus and Turkey over plans by the Republic of Cyprus to develop newly discovered hydrocarbon deposits in its exclusive economic zone. Together, Turkey tried to prevent development by recognizing only the self-proclaimed Republic of Northern Cyprus and threatening to resolve the military conflict.

Despite the efforts made many times by the world community, at the moment there is still a demarcation line between the Turkish and Greek parts of Cyprus. This means that there is a state in the European Union that has territorial problems, which contradicts the Copenhagen criteria for membership in this organization.

As for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, this entity controls 37% of the island's territory, while its population is only 18% of the total number of Cypriots. At the same time, the Cypriot government reserves the right to liberate the occupied territories. Thus, the presence of Turkish troops in Cyprus is necessary to maintain the existence of the TRNC.

At the same time, the northern part of the island is catastrophically impoverished: due to the unsettled political status, it cannot develop the tourism industry and attract foreign investors. All foreign trade transactions are carried out by North Cypriot firms through Turkey, which, of course, leads to markups on both import and export. But the most painful moment for the Turkish Cypriots is the ban on direct flights to their republic, which can only be made from the territory of Turkey. In addition, the current Turkish economy is struggling to bear the burden of the TRNC and is unable to fully meet its financial needs. The current situation makes Ankara more "receptive" to the demands of Brussels. Moreover, taking into account the predicted formation by 2010 of the Mediterranean Free Trade Area, special prospects open up for Cyprus, which specializes in services and transit.

Representatives of Turkish business circles, in turn, express the opinion that Cyprus is costing their country more and more, the need to maintain it is one of the reasons for the emergence of economic crises, which delays the admission of Turkey itself to the EU. For example, TUSIAD, the largest organization of Turkish industrialists and entrepreneurs, made the following statement following the EU summit in Brussels: “We do not agree that Turkey's support for the uncompromising policy of Rauf Denktas is correct. Cyprus is a strategically important island, but on the other hand, our task is to improve the living standards of sixty-five million people, which can be solved by becoming a member of the EU, a rich country and part of the modern civilized world. We cannot miss this opportunity because of the Cyprus problem.”

However, it is necessary to take into account the strategic importance of Cyprus, especially in view of the current conflicts in the Middle East. The loss of influence in Northern Iraq and Northern Cyprus is perceived by the Turkish leadership as a reduction in strategic potential and increased risk factors for the country's national security. The events in Iraq sharply increase the level of Turkey's vulnerability, while the loss of Northern Cyprus reduces the zone of its regional influence already in the western direction. Obviously, in both cases, the NATO system or the system of collective European security does not act as a guarantor of Turkish national interests. In addition, according to the Turkish military, in any possible future war, Turkey depends on external supplies of weapons and equipment, the sea and air routes of delivery of which pass through Cyprus. This is due to the fact that Turkish troops in Cyprus are not subject to any international arms limitation agreements.

In the economic aspect, the position of Cyprus, the "key" to the entire Eastern Mediterranean, allows Turkey to control the approaches to the Mediterranean ports of Turkey - Iskenderun, where Iraqi oil is pumped, Mersin and Ceyhan, the intended final point for transporting Caspian oil from Baku. Among other things, Turkish leaders believe that any concession by Ankara on the settlement of the Cyprus problem will inevitably weaken the credibility of the Central Asian republics, which Turkey seeks to patronize, and possibly in the rest of the Muslim world.

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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 of the Mediterranean, with more staff than 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. On July 15, immediately after a successful coup in Cyprus, the aircraft carrier America CV 66, which was in the Spanish port of Rota, waiting to be relieved after a six-month stay in the Mediterranean, was ordered to increase the Sixth Fleet instead of returning to the United States. 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, Türkiye, 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. The entire area of the 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 reach a maximum speed of 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 this 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 the 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 all news agencies, including the Soviet ones, though it 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 undertook to help the citizens of other European countries, as well as the Americans in evacuating the island, part of the British citizens 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 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 the 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. The Greek Cypriot and Greek forces 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.

On July 24, Soviet people were evacuated from Cyprus. In early publications, this was the central episode of the participation of Soviet ships in the "Cyprus conflict", it 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, the 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 the eastern Mediterranean. 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)