UN General Assembly
1964

101. The problem of Cyprus may be summed up as one which stems from an external effort to deprive Cyprus of the substance of its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. The origin of the present critical situation lies in the colonial policy of divide and rule, in the name of which Turkey, a former occupying Power, was in 1955 encouraged by Britain, the then colonial Power, to inject itself once more into the affairs of Cyprus. This was in complete disregard of the perfectly valid Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, by virtue of which Turkey had solemnly agreed to abandon all rights and interests with regard to Cyprus and the other territories formerly under the Ottoman Empire. I mention this solely for the benefit of those who appear so sensitive in regard to the Zurich and London Agreements of February 1959 which were imposed upon Cyprus, as well as for the benefit of all other countries which were formerly under the domination of the Ottoman Empire. This action was taken with the sole aim of complicating a simple issue of freedom and self- determination by promoting intercommunal division and strife in the island for purposes alien to the interests of the Cypriot people.