Turkish forces landed on Cyprus on 20 July and captured 3% of the island before the UN Security Council secured a ceasefire. The Turkish area was later widened to 36%.
Cyprus has marked 50 years since the Turkish invasion in the summer of 1974.
Heavily armed troops landed on the island in response to a coup by supporters of the island’s union with Greece.
UN peacekeepers had been deployed to Cyprus to quell fighting between the two communities a full decade prior to the invasion and, in its aftermath, their mandate was expanded to patrol the buffer zone.
The two sides eased their military preparedness after a 1989 deal between breakaway Turkish Cypriots in the island’s northern third and the Greek Cypriots in the south, in which they agreed to pull their forces back.
Cyprus remains divided
Cyprus continues to be the only remaining divided European Union member, although both the United Nations and the EU still refuse to recognise the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as a separate state.
So far in 2024, there’s been a 70% increase in breaches on the UN buffer zone compared to a year ago. This is mainly due to construction from both sides inside the neutral territory. In 2023, there was a 60% rise in such violations.
The two sides haven’t engaged in any real dialogue for a peace deal in seven years, since the last major push to reunify the island as a federated republic consisting of Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot zones fell through.
However there has been a concerted effort in recent months to renew negotiations, with the UN Secretary General António Guterres appointing a Personal Envoy to Cyprus in January.
‘An insurmountable obstacle’
But a key obstacle remains. While the Greek Cypriot side still sees bizonal, bicommunal federation as the only viable solution, Turkish Cypriots want to discuss a two-state solution.
“Our goal at this stage is to get to some tangible next steps as soon as possible. It is a fact that we are facing difficulties. The position from the Turkish side at the moment puts forward the issues of sovereign equality and equal international status as conditions for accepting to re-engage in a process,” said Menelaos Menelaou, a Greek Cypriot Negotiator.
“Essentially it is an insurmountable obstacle because it escapes the framework determined by the UN resolutions, it is outside the historical compromise of the bi-communal federation, it is beyond the limits of a single state that must be ensured through the solution of the Cyprus problem and there is no room for deviation whatsoever,” he added.
Getting the two sides back to talks is key to preventing tensions on the island from escalating to a point where open hostilities could again break out.
After meeting with both sides, Special UN Envoy María Angela Holguín Cuéllar has submitted a report to the UN Secretary General, who is evaluating its content in order to determine his next steps.
The report has not yet been made public.
