Military history of Cyprus

The discovery of natural gas is a significant incentive to get Ankara's backing for a resolution to the Cyprus issue, says the country's President Nicos Anastasiades, who believes that the prospect of using some of the fuel lying beneath the seabed off the island's shores to cover a large part of Turkey's energy needs and transform the country into a regional energy hub could convince Turkish P

The Greek minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias provided an in-depth analysis of the latest developments so far regarding the ongoing negotiations about the Cyprus dispute to the representatives of all the political parties.

The Council convened in the light of the upcoming meeting of the participating sides in Geneva on January the 12th.
 

Although the discovery of huge hydrocarbon reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean has created a significant opportunity for a solution to the Cyprus question, energy alone may not be enough for a solution.

It is not yet certain when the two people of Cyprus will be asked to go to separate simultaneous referenda to vote on an agreement uniting the divided island in a bi-zonal and bi-communal federation. Indeed, as for now, it is not certain either if there ever will be an accord to crown the almost 50 years of intercommunal talks.

The Cyprus issue is not independent of the Syrian issue. But while the imperialist intervention that has dragged Syria and Iraq into civil war and divided both still continues, the Cyprus talks have accelerated. 

In a village in northern Cyprus, a community struggling to save its ancient language has seen a glimmer of hope in intensified efforts to reunify the divided island.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan may be more willing to back a deal to reunite the divided island of Cyprus following Turkey's failed army coup in July, the Cypriot foreign minister said on Tuesday.

New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his unswerving support for Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades's efforts in his quest for "a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem" at a meeting Monday with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, but he also voiced concern at the incendiary rhetoric coming out of Turkey.

Since Mustafa Akıncı became president of Turkish Cyprus, and efforts to find a federal resolution to the Cyprus problem picked up momentum, each time the ship of talks hit the rocks, the Greek Cypriots managed to get something extra to refloat the vessel.

A peaceful solution on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus is within reach "with flexibility and creativity," U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said before a visit to the island on Nov. 30. 

"With further flexibility and creativity by all sides involved, we believe a solution is within reach," said Johnson in a written statement issued by the ministry on Nov. 29.