2022 Cyprus Crisis

In 2022, Cyprus faced several challenges to both its status as a sovereign state and its relationship with its former owner, the United Kingdom. The crisis, although gradually slowed diplomatically, continues into the present.

## Background

The Republic of Cyprus, recognized by all but one state at the beginning of the conflict as the sole ruler of the island of Cyprus, is *de facto* split in several ways. Predominantly, the northeast of the island is governed by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which was initially only recognized by Turkey, which has ostentatiously attempted to annex its land. This split is based on ethnicity, as the land controlled by the Republic of Cyprus is ethnically Greek, while that controlled by the TRNC is ethnically Turkish.

Following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1978, the British Empire effectively took over the island of Cyprus despite its technical ownership by the Ottoman Empire. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, concessions by the new state of Turkey with Allies following WWI, and fears over union with Greece, tensions between the ethnic Greeks and Turks emerged. In 1964, the United Nations created the "Green Line" a demilitarized boundary splitting the island between the Republic of Cyprus and TRNC.

Following Cypriot independence in 1960, Britain retained strategic bases on Cyprus, leading to small areas of the island being under the rule of the United Kingdom.

## Changes in North Cypriot Politics

The beginning of the 2022 Cyprus Crisis began with renewed Turkish involvement in North Cyprus. In January of 2022, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited North Cyprus to discuss joining the Organisation of Turkic States. Çavuşoğlu's plane landed in Geçitkale, where he met with TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel to discuss political and economic relations between North Cyprus and Turkey. The meeting reportedly went well. Days later, the Turkish government announced the creation of the Cyprus Turkish Union Committee, a political action committee seeking North Cypriot unification with Turkey. Cyprus was outraged at the prospect of Turkish occupation of land they claimed to be their own.

Following these developments, the United Kingdom, originally one of Cyprus's strongest supporters, recognized the TRNC as rightful Turkish land. The Republic of Cyprus immediately attempted to bargain with the United Kingdom, offering its autonomy in exchange for protection by Britain. The UK government seemed in favor of this, but the deal eventually fell through.

Russia announced a shift in foreign policy on Cyprus, with the state not only recognizing North Cyprus as independent from the Republic of Cyprus but stating that the TRNC was the legitimate state to govern all of the island. Cyprus requested to join NATO, but this too fell through. The United Kingdom then demanded that Russia withdraw all military assets from Cyprus. This inadvertently drew Russia closer to Turkey; the two states were already growing closer following Russian recognition of North Cyprus, and Turkey allowed Russia to construct a base at Antalya. It was after this that the UK reversed position and deemed the TRNC as under Cypriot sovereignty. This caused a diplomatic feud between the UK and Turkey.

In February, the situation had cooled, although Turkey continued to strengthen its political presence in North Cyprus. It was at this point that scholars began to truly take note of Unionism, a Kemalist, civic nationalist ideology promoting the creation of a federation for all Turkic-speaking peoples, which included North Cyprus. Over the following months, the Turkish and TPRC governments coordinated to hold a referendum for North Cyprus to join Turkey, which was at least partially fed by a constant stream of pro-union propaganda. In May, the referendum was held, and came back with a resounding 73.2% in favor of union with Turkey. The referendum, however, was unrecognized by France, which claimed that the referendum was rigged given the promotion of pro-union propaganda and the favoring of the TPRC government of union. France threatened to invoke Article 42(7) of the Treaty of the European Union (the article which requires member states to defend each other when under attack) should Turkey attempt to establish control over Northern Cyprus.

Turkey, while hostile to the French government, did not attempt to occupy North Cyprus. Tensions between the two further increased, with Cyprus playing a major role. France withheld trade from Turkey over North Cyprus, the Kurds, and the plan for Iraqi partition (Nigeria followed France's policy). The embargo by these two states played a major role in hurting the Turkish economy and necessitated further economic reform.

## Militarization of Cyprus

On Jan. 10th, Turkey increased its military presence on North Cyprus, moving an additional 5,000 soldiers onto the north side of the Green Line. Shortly thereafter, Russia announced a blockade of the island to force British troops off after Cyprus requested increased integration into the United Kingdom. This triggered an exchange of threats and demands between the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Turkey, and Russia. The blockade never fully went into effect, although Russian ships were loosely seen around the island on Jan. 13th and 14th. Russia backed off after the United Kingdom announced the establishment of a no-sail zone around the island for Russian military ships.

During this week, the United Nations dispatched additional peacekeepers to the Green Line in case of open conflict between the sides of the island. Both the Republic of Cyprus and TPRC saw spikes in military enlistments, and the number of incidents between ethnic Greeks and Turks on both sides increased. This militarization gradually calmed over the month of February, though.