Cyprus (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised April 1, 2019 |
| Report Number |
IF10749 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
Vincent L. Morelli |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The island of Cyprus is located in the Eastern
Mediterranean, 65 miles off the southern coast of Turkey.
After gaining independence from Great Britain in 1960,
Cyprus’s success as a politically stable, united republic
began to unravel in 1963 as relations between the Greek
Cypriot majority and the Turkish Cypriots deteriorated. In
1964, the Turkish Cypriots, objecting to revisions made to
the constitution by the majority, withdrew from most
national institutions and began to administer their own
affairs. Sporadic, and sometimes intense, intercommunal
violence prompted the United Nations Security Council to
order a U.N. peacekeeping force to the island. In 1974, a
coup against the Greek Cypriot government, intended to
unify Cyprus with Greece, led to the deployment of Turkish
military forces to northern Cyprus. Since then, the island
has been politically and physically divided; the
internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus governs
about two-thirds of the island, and the Turkish Cypriots
administer an area in the northern third of the island. In
1983, the Turkish Cypriots declared their independence and
established the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC). The TRNC is recognized only by Turkey.
