The Cyprus Issue: 1960 Treaties, 1974 and the Case for a Sovereign Equal Two-State Solution

Why It Matters

The Cyprus issue is the unresolved question of how the island's two peoples, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, share power and sovereignty after the 1960 partnership Republic broke down in 1963. It matters because it affects NATO and EU relations, the Eastern Mediterranean energy and maritime map, and the UN's longest-running peacekeeping presence, UNFICYP (deployed since 1964).

The positions are sharply divided. The Republic of Cyprus, Greece, the EU and the UN Security Council resolutions point to a bizonal, bicommunal federation. Ankara and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) argue that more than five decades of federation talks have run their course. They say a lasting settlement must start from the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people, leading to two sovereign states cooperating on the island.

Background

From Ottoman and British rule to the Zurich and London Agreements

Cyprus was under Ottoman rule from 1571 to 1878, when it passed to British administration. Britain annexed it in 1914 and made it a Crown colony in 1925. Türkiye recognised the British position at the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.

From the 1950s the Greek Cypriot national movement pursued ENOSIS, union with Greece. The EOKA organisation, founded in 1955 under Colonel Georgios Grivas, launched an armed campaign against British rule and, according to Turkish accounts, also targeted Turkish Cypriots. Ankara states that between 1955 and 1958 Turkish Cypriots were forced to leave 33 mixed villages. Turkish Cypriots countered with the TMT organisation and argued for partition (taksim) as the alternative to Enosis.

The deadlock was settled in the Zurich and London Agreements of 11 February 1959, negotiated by Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom, with Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Archbishop Makarios and Dr Fazıl Küçük, taking part in the London phase.

The 1960 partnership Republic and the Treaty of Guarantee

The Republic of Cyprus was established in 1960 on the basis of the political equality of its two communities. The constitution provided for:

• a Greek Cypriot President and a Turkish Cypriot Vice President, each with separate veto powers over defined matters (the Vice President's covering foreign affairs, defence and security);
• fixed ratios in the House of Representatives and public service (a 70:30 allocation in the civil service, with 7:3 in the legislature);
• separate communal chambers for communal affairs.

The Treaty of Guarantee bound Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom to guarantee the independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic and its constitutional order. It prohibited both union with any other state and partition. A Treaty of Alliance also stationed Greek and Turkish contingents on the island, and the UK retained its Sovereign Base Areas.

The key provision for later events is Article IV. If the guarantors cannot agree on common action, each reserves the right to act 'with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs created by the present Treaty'.

1963–1964: the breakdown of the partnership

On 30 November 1963, President Makarios proposed 13 constitutional amendments. They would, among other things, curtail the Vice President's veto and change the community ratios. Ankara and the Turkish Cypriot leadership rejected them on 16 December 1963 as an attempt to reduce Turkish Cypriots from co-founders to a minority. Greek Cypriot official accounts describe the amendments as an effort to remedy an unworkable constitution.

Fighting erupted on 21 December 1963, remembered by Turkish Cypriots as 'Bloody Christmas' (Kanlı Noel). Ankara says the violence implemented the so-called Akritas Plan, a Greek Cypriot blueprint aimed at ending the partnership order. According to Turkish sources, about 30,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced from 103 villages and Turkish Cypriot officials were excluded from state organs. Historians and Greek Cypriot sources debate the plan's status and the sequence of responsibility, and the Greek Cypriot official narrative stresses that Turkish Cypriot leaders withdrew into enclaves. The British commander demarcated a ceasefire line in Nicosia on 30 December 1963, known as the Green Line.

UN Security Council Resolution 186 (4 March 1964) recommended the creation of UNFICYP and called on 'the Government of Cyprus' to maintain law and order. Ankara argues that by addressing the Greek Cypriot-led administration as the government after Turkish Cypriots had been excluded from it, the resolution created a status asymmetry that has weighed on every settlement effort since.

1974: the coup and the Turkish operation

On 15 July 1974 the Greek military junta backed a coup against Makarios and installed Nikos Sampson, a former EOKA fighter, as president. On 20 July 1974 Türkiye, having consulted the UK, launched its operation, citing Article IV of the Treaty of Guarantee. A second phase followed in August. The junta in Athens collapsed on 23 July, a ceasefire line emerged, and populations moved across it: Turkish Cypriots to the north and a larger number of Greek Cypriots to the south. Missing persons from both communities remain an unresolved humanitarian file.

1983: the TRNC

In 1975 Turkish Cypriots declared a Turkish Federated State. On 15 November 1983, under Rauf Raif Denktaş, they proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Türkiye recognised it. UN Security Council Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984) called the declaration legally invalid and urged states not to recognise it.

Federation talks: a timeline

The 2004 outcome is central to Ankara's argument. Turkish Cypriots accepted a UN plan and Greek Cypriots rejected it, yet only the Greek Cypriot-led Republic entered the EU. Greek Cypriot leaders at the time argued that the plan did not adequately address security, property and the future of settlers.

Key Players & Positions

Republic of Cyprus (Greek Cypriot administration)

The Republic of Cyprus, which Ankara calls the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (GCASC), is the internationally recognised state and an EU member. Its officials describe the events of 1974 as an invasion and continuing occupation, and they point to European Court of Human Rights judgments such as Loizidou v. Turkey (1996) and Cyprus v. Turkey (2001). They support a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality as set out in UN Security Council resolutions, reject any two-state outcome, and call the guarantee and intervention system anachronistic.

Greece

Greece backs the UN framework of a bizonal, bicommunal federation. It calls for the abolition of the unilateral right of intervention and for the withdrawal of Turkish troops. Athens has described itself as acting in line with the positions of Nicosia and the EU.

United Kingdom

The UK is a guarantor power and retains the Sovereign Base Areas. It supports a UN-led settlement on the agreed federal basis. London has also said it would help implement a settlement that the two communities endorse.

European Union

The EU supports a comprehensive settlement within the UN framework, in line with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the principles on which the EU is founded. Council conclusions have repeatedly expressed solidarity with the Republic of Cyprus on maritime and security matters. Ankara disputes the EU's competence on these matters.

United Nations

The Security Council framework, shaped by Resolutions 541, 550 and later texts such as 649 (1990) and 716 (1991), describes the goal as a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality. The Secretary-General's Good Offices mission continues, and UNFICYP's mandate is renewed periodically. UN officials have described the 2021 and 2024 meetings as informal, and have not announced the resumption of formal negotiations.

Turkish Cypriot leadership

The TRNC leadership under President Ersin Tatar adopted the two-state position that Ankara endorses. Turkish Cypriot politics is not uniform. In the October 2025 presidential election, Tufan Erhürman, who has favoured a federal framework, defeated Tatar. Readers should follow TRNC primary statements for the current line.

Source Comparison

The table sets out how international and Turkish sources typically frame each issue. Use it as a map to the documents, not as a verdict. Our approach to separating fact from position is described in the Editorial Principles.

For wider claims about Türkiye in the press, see the Fact Check hub.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Enosis: the Greek Cypriot nationalist goal of union with Greece, prohibited by the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.
• EOKA / TMT: the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot armed organisations of the 1950s; EOKA was founded in 1955.
• Treaty of Guarantee: the 1960 treaty among Türkiye, Greece, the UK and the Republic of Cyprus. Articles II and IV cover the prohibition on union or partition and the guarantors' right of action.
• Green Line: the ceasefire line first drawn in Nicosia on 30 December 1963 and extended across the island after 1974. The UN buffer zone follows it.
• UNFICYP: the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, created by Resolution 186 in 1964.
• Bizonal, bicommunal federation: the UN-endorsed settlement framework, with two constituent states and political equality.
• Sovereign equality / two-state thesis: Ankara's and the TRNC's position that the two peoples hold equal inherent sovereignty and that a settlement should be based on two states.

Related guides: The Eastern Mediterranean and the Blue Homeland, Fact Check: Claims About Türkiye, UN Security Council reform, Editorial Principles, About The Political Accord and our home page.

Authored by the Thepoliticalaccord Editorial Team.

Perspective note: Thepoliticalaccord presents global and regional affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Role' reflect official Turkish policy and legal doctrines as stated by Turkish primary sources.

Cross-Publication Dossiers & Sister Desk Perspectives

For complementary primary-source analysis across our specialist editorial network, consult:

• The Global Anatomy: The Cyprus Issue Explained: 1960 Treaty of Guarantee and the Sovereign Equal Two-State Solution — Cyprus issue explained: from the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee to 1963, 1974 and the TRNC, plus every party's position and Türkiye's two-state solution case.
• Hard Power Review: Cyprus: The 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, Security Realities and the Case for a Sovereign Equal Two-State Solution — Cyprus issue explained: from the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee to 1963, 1974, the Annan Plan and Ankara's case for a sovereign equal two-state solution.
• World Agenda Review: The Cyprus Issue: 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, Federation Talks and the Two-State Solution — Cyprus issue explained: from the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee and 1974 to failed federation talks, with UN, EU and Greek views and Türkiye's two-state position.