Foreign Relations of Cyprus - Turkey

Turkey

Turkey flatly refuses to recognize the government of the Republic of Cyprus, stating that the Republic - as established by the Constitution of 1960 - ceased to exist when the intercommunal violence that commenced in December 1963 ended Turkish Cypriot participation in the Cypriot government. The attempted coup in July 1974 - engineered by Greek Military Junta - was responded to by Turkey by a full military invasion, which resulted in the northern third of the island being occupied by Turkish military forces. This portion of Cyprus unilaterally declared independence in November 1983 as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which Turkey recognizes. Turkey refers to the Republic of Cyprus government as "The Greek Cypriot Administration of South Cyprus" and through various official media (such as national education program) has even claimed that the non occupied regions of Cyprus are part of Turkish territory.

Cyprus takes the view that the TRNC government is a puppet administration, and thus prefers to negotiate with Turkey over the resolution of the Cyprus Problem. Turkey insists that the TRNC government is the institution that the RoC government must refer to in negotiations.

Cyprus' accession to the European Union has had a negative impact on Turkey in regards to its own accession negotiations. The refusal of Turkey to allow Cypriot-flagged ships to access Turkish ports has resulted in a partial suspension of its accession negotiations. However Cyprus is in favor of Turkey's Accession to the EU with the hope it will facilitate a viable and just solution of the Cyprus Problem.

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