Since the Turkish invasion of 1974, the Republic of Cyprus has been divided: the northern third of the island was unilaterally declared to be the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) by its Turkish Cypriot population. The United Nations considers the declaration of independence of Northern Cyprus to be legally invalid and calls for the withdrawal of troops from Turkey that invaded the island in support of the Turkisk Cypriot minority. The government of Northern Cyprus has not been diplomatically recognized except by the Government of Turkey since its unilateral declaration of independence in 1983.