Cyprus problem

There is an ongoing dispute between the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus, particularly in the north where Turkish troops are deployed. It began after the Greek Cypriot community challenged the British administration of the island in 1955, the 1974 Cypriot coup d'état executed by the Cypriot National Guard and sponsored by the Greek military junta, and the ensuing Turkish military invasion of the island, and hence the presence of Turkish soldiers, despite a legal reinstatement of a stable government. The desire of some of the ethnic Turkish people for the partition of the island of Cyprus through Taksim, the desire of some of the ethnic Greek people for the unification with Greece (Enosis), and mainland Turkish nationalists settling in as a show of force as a supposed means of protecting their people from what they considered to be the threat of Greek Cypriots also plays a role in the dispute.

Initially, with the Ottoman Empire's cession of the island to the British Empire in 1878 and subsequent annexation in 1914, the "Cyprus dispute" referred to general conflicts between Greek and Turkish islanders. At present, the complications of the dispute go beyond the boundaries of the island itself and involve the guarantor powers under the Zürich and London Agreement (namely Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom), the United Nations, and the European Union. The now-defunct Czechoslovakia and Eastern Bloc had previously interfered politically.

The problem entered its current phase in the aftermath of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, which resulted in the Turks occupying the northern third of the island. Although the invasion was triggered by the 1974 coup d'état, Turkish forces refused to depart after the legitimate government was restored. The Turkish Cypriot leadership later declared independence as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, although only Turkey has recognised it, and there continues to be broad international opposition to Northern Cyprus independence. According to the European Court of Human Rights, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus should be considered a puppet state under effective Turkish occupation, and is legitimately part of Cyprus.