Turkey is in an entirely new position today. For the first time in nearly three hundred years, there is a situation where there is a strong Turkey getting stronger and a weak Russia getting perhaps weaker. The present situation of a strong Turkey and a weak Russia is new at least since the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. If we admit an emerging tripolarity of trading blocs, where North and South America fall under U.S. tutelage, where Central and Eastern Europe falls under EC tutelage, and where East Asia falls under Japan's tutelage, then we are left with Africa, Central Eurasia, and southwest Asia including Asia Minor and the Near East. Cyprus is further unique in that the conflict there, although one side is Christian and the other Muslim, does not have a fundamentally religious but rather a national character.
Religion has little significance as an actual source of conflict.
It is no exaggeration then to say that the situation on Cyprus is unique, that this may enhance possibilities for its resolution, and that if it is successfully resolved then it may send out ripples to pacify the churning waters in the surrounding regions. Certainly one of the most significant developments since the end of the 1980s, indeed in the last few years or even months, has been the role of the EC in attempting to settle conflicts in the Balkan peninsula. It is conceivable that the EC's dynamism may be harnessed towards the settlement of the Cyprus conflict. Specifically, it is worth noting that the people in Brussels involved in the peace making in the former Yugoslavia originally were not the ones who are in the new departments created to deal with Central and Eastern Europe. Rather, because of the EC Commission's experience over many years with Yugoslavia, these officials from Brussels originally had their background in the Community's Mediterranean affairs.