Turkey- Cyprus conflict

Turkey and Greece are both members of NATO. But they have become rivals in the race to extract energy from the eastern Mediterranean region. Istanbul's Aya Sophia Museum - which had an Orthodox Christian church for centuries - has been declared a mosque by Turkey. This incident also shocked Greece. Recently, huge gas reserves were discovered in the sea off the coast of the island of Cyprus. It was then that the Cypriot government, Greece, Israel and Egypt set out to work together to use these resources. In November 2019, Turkey signed an agreement with Libya. According to Ankara, they have created a special economic zone from the southern coast of Turkey to the northeastern coast of Libya. This year, Ankara has discovered the largest gas reserves in Turkey's history in the Mediterranean. Erdogan later announced that he would continue his exploration. Countries Greece and Cyprus. The two countries are not willing to accept Turkish sovereignty in that part of the sea. Greece refused to attend the meeting, although it initially spoke of talks. Urging talks, Erdogan said, "Greece will either understand the language of politics and diplomacy, or they will have to go through a painful experience." The people of Turkey are ready for any situation. Greece has also been involved in Turkey's decades-long dispute with Cyprus. Greece has always sided with Cyprus in this dispute. However, Athens is now in direct conflict with Ankara over Turkish exploration activities in the Mediterranean region. Russia has offered to mediate in the Turkish-Cyprus dispute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the proposal. He says Moscow is ready to mediate in any talks between Turkey and Cyprus.

Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean, is now a divided state, with Greece to the west, Lebanon, Syria and Israel to the east, Turkey to the north and Egypt to the south. The country is located 40 miles south of the Turkish coast and 60 miles north of Syria. Cyprus belongs to the continent of Europe. In 395, the island came under the Byzantine Empire. The Arabs occupied it in 643. It was occupied by King Richard of England in 1191 during the Third Crusade. It was captured by the Ottomans in 1539. Unified (Turkish and Greek) Cyprus was ruled by Turkish sultans for almost three hundred years. Turkish rule in Cyprus continued until the 18th century. After the Russo-Turkish War, the island came under British occupation. In 18, the island became a British military base. In 1925, the British claimed the island as their own colony. Cyprus finally gained independence from Britain through a treaty on August 16, 1960. The country was given a constitution in 1960. It provided for the formation of a united government through power-sharing. A Turkish Cypriot. In addition, at least 30% of the members of parliament are elected from among Turkish Cypriots. Initially, it was decided to make Archbishop Macarios III president and Dr. Fazal Kusuk vice president. An article in the constitution called for the creation of separate local municipalities so that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could run their own municipalities in large cities. In 1974, Greek nationalist Greek Cypriots staged a military coup with the help of the Greek military junta. Turkish Cypriots are victims of racist violence.As a result, in 1974, the United Nations sent peacekeepers. These forces are still deployed today.

Turkey was forced to intervene in 1975 after a Greek coup attempt to occupy Turkish Cyprus in 1974. In 1975, Northern Cyprus declared independence under the name of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus. Turkey's attempts to gain multilateral support against the coup failed. After the armistice, Turkish troops remained, and the island split. Northern Cyprus was declared a Turkish Republic on November 15, 1983. Millions of Cypriots were displaced by inter-communal violence, coups, and subsequent aggression. Euro occupied by the Republic of Cyprus. Northern Cyprus covers an area of ​​3,355 square kilometers, about one-third the size of the island of Cyprus. The northern border of Northern Cyprus is 75 km with Turkey, 96 km of the eastern border and with Syria. The official name of the country is the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Only Turkey has recognized Northern Cyprus as a state. The rest of the international community considers it part of the Republic of Cyprus. The incident has had such a profound effect on Cypriot politics that relations between the two parts are not good, not even in direct telecommunications. That is why international troops are guarding the dividing line. Most of the Turkish Cypriots are Muslims. Northern Cyprus or Turkish Cyprus is largely under the control of the Turkish army. Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey, is considered by the international community to be part of the Republic of Cyprus. After the declaration of independence of Northern Cyprus, Bangladesh and Pakistan initially recognized the country. However, due to the UN's refusal to recognize the country, the two countries withdrew their recognition due to international pressure (especially from the United States). Began negotiations for integration. In 2004, after lengthy negotiations between the two sides, a plan for the unification of the island was formulated. The plan is supported by the United Nations, the European Union and the United States. However, nationalists on both sides campaigned for the rejection of the plan. Although Turkish Cypriots accepted the plan, most Greek Cypriots rejected it.The first census in northern Cyprus was held in 1996. At that time the population of the country was 2,00,587. The second census in 2006 put the country's population at 2,65,100. In 2011, the third census in northern Cyprus was conducted with the help of UN observers. The total population of the country is 2,94,906. Several political parties, trade unions and local newspapers rejected the results. They claim that the government has underestimated the population in order to get financial support from Turkey. 99% of Turkish Cypriots are Sunni Muslims. But Northern Cyprus is a secular state.

Southern Cyprus is called the mainland of Cyprus, with Nicosia as its capital. Area 9295 sq km. Population 11 lakh 70 thousand 166 people. It is the last divided capital of the world. However, Cyprus is branding Nicosia as 'Last divided capital in the world' to attract tourists. The original inhabitants of Cyprus are also Greek, the language of the Greek Cypriots. Most of the Greek Cypriots are members of the Greek Orthodox Church. According to Eurobrometer 2005, Cyprus is one of the five major religious countries in Europe. Cyprus is also one of the five countries in the European Union that have state religions. The state religion of Cyprus is the Cypriot Orthodox Church.