Modern history of Cyprus

By Costas Iordanidis

The Greek Police announced on Thursday that it will be imposing special security measures for the upcoming visit by Turkish Prime Minister Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Among these measures is a ban on public gatherings and protest rallies from 6 a.m. on Friday, when the Turkish president is due to arrive, through 3 p.m. on Saturday, after his departure.

Talks between Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday focused on the prospects for a settlement to the Cyprus problem amid a new peace push, with Venizelos underlining the importance of “encouraging dialogue.”

It is more than relieving that we have a prime minister who thinks he can end the half-century-long dispute over Cyprus just by having a spot of tea with his Greek counterpart on both sides of the divided island. Why did the whole world not think of this before?

Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has slammed Ankara and Turkish-Cypriot officials for lack of progress on reunification talks suggesting that their real objective is to upgrade the illegal state in the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island.

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Ankara has sought to play down recent comments by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Cyprus that sparked a strong reaction from Greece's foreign ministry, according to reports Friday.

Ankara has sought to play down recent comments by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Cyprus that sparked a strong reaction from Greece's foreign ministry, according to reports Friday.

Commenting about George Vassiliou, the late Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktaş said he was no different than other Greek Cypriot leaders; the only difference might have been his ability to make the nastiest remarks with a smiling face. “He is a smiling devil… No different than the others,” he said. He was wrong.

“It is difficult to understand Greek Cypriot mentality,” Turks and other people complaining of Greeks often say. Wrong.

Just like any others would have acted had they been spoiled throughout previous decades by almost the entire international community; Greek Cypriots are simply trying to gain everything without paying at all.

Athens reacted angrily on Monday to calls by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a “two-state” solution to the Cyprus problem and claims that Greece is not “doing its duty” as a guarantor power, saying the comments were “disappointing” and “simply confirm Ankara’s persistence in its aggressive policy” on Cyprus.