Enosis

In May, Corfiots "celebrated" the 154th anniversary of the day the United States of the Ionian Islands ceased to exist and became part of Greece. It was the first major territorial accretion to the fledgling state and it had been controversial in both Corfu and Athens. It still is.

Turkey on Aug. 9 criticized "baseless" allegations from the Greek Foreign Ministry regarding commemoration events in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Aug. 8, marking the 53rd anniversary of the Erenköy Resistance. 

Metin Münir has always been a liberal and a very libertarian writer. He was an editor for Hürriyet Daily News. I always considered him as a well-respected colleague and an elder brother with whom I enjoyed discussing local and international political topics. Although most of the time, particularly on the Cyprus issue, we had confronting views.

The Turkish government has endorsed a rather aggressive rhetoric on foreign policy over the past five or so years, but one issue stands out as an exception: Cyprus.

What is the reality on the land? What is the reality perceived by Turks or Greeks in Cyprus? Do they see the same reality? These and such questions that might appear odd to outsiders indeed touch the core of the Cyprus problem: a difference in perception.

The two Cypriot leaders on April 11 rebooted stalled U.N.-backed reunification talks for the island and agreed to pick up lost momentum after a two-month suspension.

Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akıncı has warned Greek Cyprus ahead of a resumption of peace talks that if the natural resources drilling off the island starts before an agreement on the island then there will be new tensions, which he does not favor.

Just a few days before the stalled Cyprus peace talks are set to resume, the Greek Cypriot parliament overturned the law that called for the celebration of a 1950 referendum seeking unification with Greece to be celebrated in schools, the main cause that led to a breakdown in talks.

The two Cypriot leaders on April 2 failed to set a date to restart stalled peace talks on reunifying the island after meeting for dinner in the U.N.-controlled buffer zone, the United Nations said.

Turkey's top security board has stated that talks for the reunification of the Cyprus can only resume in the event that Greek Cyprus "takes steps to restore confidence."