Erdogan to commemorate 1974 Cyprus invasion
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit occupied northern Cyprus Thursday to commemorate the 49th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of the island.
Turkey invaded Cyprus on July 20, 1974, five days after a coup against the then-Cypriot president, Archbishop Makarios, orchestrated by the military regime ruling Athens at the time. Although done on the pretext of protecting the Turkish-Cypriot minority and as a co-guarantor of Cyprus’ independence. The Turkish forces are still in Cyprus, actually serving long-held Turkish designs to partition the island. The so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” is recognized only by Ankara.
The intractable Cyprus issue also complicates any efforts at better Greek-Turkish relations. The Greek government will await to see if Erdogan will insist, in the coming days, on a “two-state” solution rejected by both Greece and Cyprus.
