Cypernsamtal kollapsade – kan ha varit sista chansen

The Cyprus dispute (also known as Cyprus issue or Cyprus problem) is an ongoing dispute, which started as anti-colonial struggle but quickly evolved into a dispute over power-sharing between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. Following the 1974 war, the dispute has been complicated further because of the presence of Turkey in north Cyprus, including the stationing of military forces, which Greek Cypriots object and the UN has often deplored in reports and resolutions. Although the Republic of Cyprus is recognized as the sole legitimate state, sovereign over all the island, the north is de facto under the administration of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus which is guarded by Turkish Armed Forces. Whether Turkey intervened or invaded Cyprus remains subject to debate, while there is broad recognition that the ongoing military presence constitutes occupation of territories that belong to the Republic of Cyprus. Initially, with the annexation of the island by the British Empire from the Ottoman Empire, the "Cyprus dispute" was identified as the conflict between the people of Cyprus and the British Crown regarding the Cypriots' demand for self determination. The dispute, however, was finally shifted, under the British administration, from a colonial dispute to an ethnic dispute between the Turkish and the Greek islanders. The international complications of the dispute stretch far beyond the boundaries of the island of Cyprus itself and involve the guarantor powers under the Zürich and London Agreement (Turkey, Greece, and the United Kingdom), the United Nations and the European Union, along with (unofficially) the United States. The 1974 Cypriot coup d'état prompted Turkey to invade, and occupy the northern part of the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriot community unilaterally declared independence forming the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), a sovereign entity that lacks international recognition with the exception of Turkey, with which TRNC enjoys full diplomatic relations, in violation of Resolution 550, adopted on 11 May 1984 by the Security Council of the UN. As a result of the two communities and the guarantor countries committing themselves to finding a peaceful solution to the dispute, the United Nations maintain a buffer zone (the "Green Line") to avoid any further intercommunal tensions and hostilities. This zone separates the southern areas of the Republic of Cyprus (predominately inhabited by Greek Cypriots), from the northern areas (where Turkish Cypriots along with Turkish settlers are now a majority). Recent years have seen warming of relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, with officially renewed reunification talks beginning in early 2014.