1. Cyprus dispute (1954-1974)  If Turkey finally decided to play an active role in the Cyprus question it was probably on British urging. In December 1951 the government made clear that Turkey did not want a status change in the island.  The island of Cyprus is located approximately 40 miles from the southeastern coast of Anatolia. It is the 3rd largest island on the Mediterranean covering an area of 3572 miles. According to the census of 1960 18,6 % of the population was Turkish Cypriots and the rest Gree Cypriots. Turkish Cypriots are mostly descendants of the soldiers of the army which conquered the island in 1571 and of the Administrators and the craftmen of the Anatolia. Two major ethnic groups did not live in separate areas but in mixed settlements: no integration of two ethnic groups/ separate villages exists as well as mixed villages.  In fact, the island never belonged to Greece. The Ottoman Empire had conquered it from Venice in 1570. It was loaned ( The administration of the island was given to Britain) to Britain in 1878 and became a British colony in 1914 when Turkey entered the war on the German side.

2.  But the island was considered vital for the defence of Anatolia and Turkey would not permit it to fall into hostile hands. These arguments suited the Britain. Thus, they made the Cyprus question a tripartite issue instead of one to be resolved by London and Athens. The independant Cyprus was founded in 1960 through the Zurich and London Agreements.  The Cyprus conflict broke out as a result of Greek desire to unite Cyprus with Greece, a policy konown as ENOSIS ( unity with Greece) and because of the opposition of Turkish Cypriots and Turkey to this policy. The Cypriots Greeks hope to achieve ENOSIS by relying on the numerical majority of Greeks on the island.  The year of 1954 marks the beginning of the conflict of Cyprus: Greece brought the Cyprus issue before the U. N Assembly and made it an international problem. Greece charged that the people of Cyprus were not granted the right of self-determination. The U. N Assemby decided not to discuss the Greek complaint. However, the conflict continued to brew. Greece decided to begin negociations with Britain and Greece. In 1955 the Cypriots Greeks engaged in violence in the island against the British and Turkish Cypriots. The establishment of EOKA, Greek terrorist organization responsible for terroristic activities in Cyprus. England considered the conflists in the island as an internal problem.  Turkey favored a resolution through the negıciations: The Turks believed that there is no Cypriote nation but only Turkish and Greek people living on the island.

3.  Cyprus problem was discussed the first time at the London Conference in 1955: No results were achieved.  By the beginning of 1955 Turkey was embroiled in the Cyprus question. Ankara had no clearly defined policy about Cyprus and wanted no change in the status of Cyprus and that if Britain vacated the island it must revert back to Turkey. Menderes described Greek demands as representing an irredentistic policy:a continuity og Greek Megalo İdea ( expansionist policy of the Greeks adopted by the Greece after her independance in 1827-1829.)  Turkey considered Cyprus and Dodecanese islands as a strategic ensemble.  By may 1957 Menderes had abandoned the slogan “Cyprus is Turkish”. Turkey’s primary concern was to find a compromise solution that would not damage her relations with Britain and Greece. In the end Athens abandoned enosis and Turkey shelved partition.  After the London Conference Cyprus issue was debated twice in the U.N: no results: No U. N resolution passed but the U. N recommended that the conflict should be resolved through negociations between parties.

4.  In December 1957, the Cyprus issue was once more discussed upon the request of Greece: draft proposal of Greece was favored by the U.N that called for negociations with the aim of enforcing self-determination. The proposal failed to muster the 2/3 of the votes.  In 1957 ana 1958 NATO engaged in mediation ana called the parties to round table parties: no result.  Britain prepared a draft resolution plan in 1958 : Macmillan plan prepared by the initiative of British Prime minister. The plan was received by misgivings and suspection by both Greece and Turkey.  A draft constitution was prepared known as Radcliffe.  Greece realized that she had no sufficient military ana diplomatic means in order to achive her desired aim: the enosis.  The Zurich agreement in 1958: contained the principles agreed upon by Greek and Turkish prime ministers concerning the internal regime and international status of Cyprus.  On February 19, 1959 at London Conference the parties adopted the principles recently agreed upon. These principles were released in the form of following 4 major Agreements:

5. 1.The treaty of establishment concerning republic of Cyprus which transfered the sovereign powers of the Britain to the Republic of Cyprus 2.The treaty og Guarentee which set a mechanism to preserve the independance, territorail integrity and the constitutionnal order 3.The treaty of alliance beyween Cyprus, Turkey and Greece 4.The Constitution of Republic of Cyprus In February 1959 both parties agreed to the establishment of the Republic Cyprus in which the rights of the Turkish minority would be safeguarded and guaranteed jointly by the United Kingdom, Greece and Turkey and the agreement was signed in London on 19 February 1959. Cyprus was proclaimed a republic on 15 August 1960 and Makarios was elected President and Dr. Fazıl Küçük, the leader of the Turkish Cyprus community, vice President.

6.  The principal weakness of these agreements was that they had been made by the three powers with the local parties-the Greek and Turkish Cypriots-in the subordinate role. By 1963 Makarios spoke of amending the constitution. Turkish foreign ministry protested at the “completely irresponsible statements of the Greek leaders against the established constitutional regime in Cyprus” which could not be amended unilaterally. Makarios refused to recognize Turkey’s rights under the agreements and on 30 november 1963 he proposed amending the basic articles of the Constitution. This led to communal violence in Cyprus, anti- Makarios demonstrations in Turkey and Ankara’s declaration that the Cyprus Constitution was dead and therefore the island had to be partionned. On Christmas day Turkish jets buzzed the island and İnönü told the National Assembly that Turkey would use its rights and intervene. He said that the fleet was ready and he had proposed to the British and Greek governments that there should be joint intervention. Next day Britain and Greece accepted the principle of joint intervention, thus making it unnecessary for Turkey to act unilaterally.

7. Cyprus question was discussed in NATO. Turkey favored a NATO solution. Makarios refused a NATO plan and took his case to the U.N where a resolution was passed unanimously to send an international peace keeping force to Cyprus. Turkey had been isolated: neither her NATO or CENTO allies supported her Cyprus thesis. The Johnson letter of 1964