The Cyprus Question| A brief Introduction 11 Political Overview Seeking a negotiated solution Following Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the Turkish side demanded a solution that would keep the two communities apart, either as two separate sovereign states or two separate states under a loose confederation. The two communities agreed in 1977 and 1979 to reunite Cyprus under a bi-communal, federal republic, the parameters of which have evolved through the years. For the Greek Cypriots, who had strongly advocated the concept of a unitary state, the acceptance of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation was a historic compromise in their effort to terminate Turkey’s military occupation and achieve the reunification of Cyprus. The UN-led peace process has since 1977 sought to define the framework of such a federal solution. Negotiations have sought to reconcile the interests and concerns of the two sides under a common central government. UN Security Council resolution 367 of 12 March 1975 reactivated the Secretary-General’s mission of good offices, which had been interrupted in 1974. Since then, intermittent negotiations under UN auspices have taken place. There have been high level meetings between the two communities, proximity talks, proposals for confidence building measures, and various plans by UN and other foreign emissaries. All these actions have failed to resolve the Cyprus problem for a number of reasons, including: uFailure by Turkey to implement UN Security Council resolutions uPrevalence of third-party strategic, economic, and political considerations over a viable and functional solution that satisfies the concerns of the state of Cyprus and of all Cypriots uIntransigent policies of successive governments in Turkey who claimed that the Cyprus problem was “solved” in 1974 uPolitical conditions in the Turkish Cypriot community and insistence by Turkish leaders on the recognition of the so-called “TRNC” uDisregard of international law, European law, and precedent-setting decisions by regional and national courts in proposed “solutions” to the Cyprus problem.
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