Cyprus–Greece relations

On the last day of March the Greek Cypriot House of Representatives will vote on a draft sponsored by the ruling Democratic Rally Party (DISI) to authorize the Education Ministry to decide on the days to be marked in secondary schools. The draft, which cleared the education committee last week, aims at leaving behind a controversy over a recent law that ordered the commemoration of a 1950 plebi

Turkey has condemned recent moves by Greek Cyprus to search for hydrocarbon reserves off the island and to hold talks with international energy companies on exploration, vowing to take all measures to protect the interests of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots. 

Turkey's vision for Cyprus is to turn the island into a bastion of peace and stability, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in an opinion piece in the Washington Times published on March 21.

The eastern Mediterranean island has been divided since 1974, after Turkish troops intervened in response to a coup by Greek Cypriot militants seeking union with Greece. 

European Union member states have rejected Turkey's demand that its citizens be granted the freedom to relocate and transfer money, services and goods to EU member Greek Cyprus under any deal reunifying the divided island, the Greek Cypriot president said March 11.

From the beginning of negotiations Greek Cyprus has never been willing to secure a genuine peace between two equal partners, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said, stressing the need to provide security and guarantees for both communities on the island. 

For totally different reasons, the two peoples of Cyprus consider the status quo as unacceptable. To heal any condition, there is an absolute need to make a proper prognosis and an accurate diagnosis. What is the Cyprus problem? Before this question is adequately and accurately answered, a resolution will not be possible.

The window of opportunity to find a permanent solution to the Cyprus problem is closing - unless some players step in and stick their hands in to keep the window from closing completely.

One interesting player could be Israel. A Cyprus peace deal would speed up Israel's project to provide gas to Turkey, the new Israeli ambassador to Ankara said last week.

The leader of the Turkish-Cypriot community stated that he will sit again on the negotiating table only when the Cypriot Parliament withdraws its decision on the “Unification Referendum”.

There are people that have persistently been stressing for the past many decades that there cannot be a Cyprus settlement in talks under U.N. auspices as long as the two negotiating partners are not treated equally.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on March 1 that a solution to the Cyprus issue had significance beyond the island's two communities, according to Turkish Cypriot presidential sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

Tillerson made the comment during a telephone call with Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akıncı, sources said.