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Cyprus is a member of the United Nations[1] along with most of its agencies as well as the Commonwealth of Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Council of Europe. In addition, the country has signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency Agreement (MIGA). Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 2004 and in the second half of the 2012 it held the presidency of the Council of the European Union.[2]
Cyprus has historically followed a non-aligned foreign policy, although it increasingly identifies with the West in its cultural affinities and trade patterns, and maintains close relations with European Union, Greece and Israel.
The prime originator of Cypriot non-alignment was Makarios III, the first President (1960–1977) of the independent republic of Cyprus. Prior to independence, Makarios - by virtue of his post as Archbishop of Cyprus and head of the Cypriot Orthodox Church - was the Greek Cypriot Ethnarch, or de facto leader of the community. A highly influential figure well before independence, he participated in the 1955 Bandung Conference. After independence, Makarios took part in the 1961 founding meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade.
Reasons for this neutrality may lie in the extreme pressures exerted on the infant Republic by its larger neighbours, Turkey and Greece. Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Organisation hosting several high-level meetings.
Immediately after the 1974 Greek-sponsored coup d'état and the Turkish invasion, Makarios secured international recognition of his administration as the legitimate government of the whole island. This was disputed only by Turkey, which currently recognises only the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, established in 1983.
Since the 1974 crisis, the chief aim of the foreign policy of the Republic of Cyprus has been to secure the withdrawal of Turkish forces and the reunification of the island under the most favourable constitutional and territorial settlement possible. This campaign has been pursued primarily through international forums such as the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement, and in recent years through the European Union.
Turkey flatly refuses to recognize the government of the Republic of Cyprus, stating that the Republic - as established by the Constitution of 1960 - ceased to exist when the intercommunal violence that commenced in December 1963 ended Turkish Cypriot participation in the Cypriot government. The attempted coup in July 1974 - engineered by Greek Military Junta - was responded to by Turkey by a full military invasion, which resulted in the northern third of the island being occupied by Turkish military forces. This portion of Cyprus unilaterally declared independence in November 1983 as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which Turkey recognizes. Turkey refers to the Republic of Cyprus government as "The Greek Cypriot Administration of South Cyprus."
Cyprus takes the view that the TRNC government is a puppet administration, and thus prefers to negotiate with Turkey over the resolution of the Cyprus Problem. Turkey insists that the TRNC government is the institution that the RoC government must refer to in negotiations.
Cyprus' accession to the European Union has had a negative impact on Turkey in regards to its own accession negotiations. The refusal of Turkey to allow Cypriot-flagged ships to access Turkish ports has resulted in a partial suspension of its accession negotiations. However Cyprus is in favor of Turkey's Accession to the EU with the hope it will facilitate a viable and just solution of the Cyprus Problem.[3]
Cyprus' 1990 application for full EU membership caused a storm in the Turkish Cypriot community, which argued that the move required their consent. Following the December 1997 EU Summit decisions on EU enlargement, accession negotiations began 31 March 1998. Cyprus joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. To fulfil its commitment as a member of the European Union, Cyprus withdrew from the Non-Aligned Movement on accession, retaining observer status.
Both countries are full members of the European Union.
Cyprus-Montenegro relations
The continuing British sovereignty of the Dhekelia and Akrotiri areas, has continued to divide Cypriots. The base areas are not under the jurisdiction of the Cypriot government. Several Cypriot villages remain enclaved in the areas, and there have been numerous arrests of anti-British demonstrators over the past few years. These activists assert that the UK should not continue to hold territory in another EU state.
Egypt is a close ally, sharing as it does an oilfield with Cyprus.Egypt Conquered Cyprus many times in both ancient, Medieval and Modern era and it was ruled by Egyptians during many period which added bases of Egyptian culture to the local culture and supported increasing the relationship between both countries for many ages, The relationship between the two countries was also strained in February 1978 when Cypriot National Guardsmen shot dead Egyptian Commandos at Larnaca International Airport when the commandos attempted to intervene in a hostage situation.
Cyprus-Madagascar relations
Cyprus-Mauritius relations
Cyprus-Namibia relations
Cyprus-Seychelles relations
Cyprus-South Africa relations
Brazil-Cyprus relations
In 2010, both Ministers of Foreign Affairs signed a cooperation agreement regarding tourism and the war on drugs.[63]
Cyprus-Peru relations
Cyprus-Indonesia relations
In the case of Israel, Cyprus has occasionally outwardly backed the Palestinians in the Arab-Israeli conflict, to the annoyance of some in the Israeli government. Cyprus, like over 100 other countries, officially recognizes Palestine as a de facto state. The island is also host to a number of Palestinian and Lebanese refugees.
Relations between the two countries continued to suffer when Cypriot first lady Antroulla Vasiliou, the wife of President persona non grata in Israel when a delegation she was leading attempted to meet with Yasser Arafat, who was under house arrest.
Controversy and public outcry arose in the early 2000s, when members of the Cypriot branch of the Greek Orthodox Church were accused of selling church-owned land in the West Bank to Israeli developers, putting Cypriot commitment to the Palestinian cause at question. The expulsion of two alleged Israeli spies from the island in 1998 also caused tension between the two governments.
The two countries now appear to be on improving terms, there has been coopertation on numerous areas but mostly on agriculture, military and tourism. The Cypriot government has also been reported to be making deals with both Israel and Egypt in exploring for oil off the southern Cyprus coast.
Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman visited Cyprus at the invitation of his Cypriot counterpart when Netanyahu was in Washington for the direct talks with the Palestinian leader. Lieberman and Cyprus foreign minister Kyprianou have met several times this year in an effort to strengthen relations between their countries.
Cyprus-Mongolia relations
Cyprus-Thailand relations
The Republic of Cyprus maintains diplomatic relations with 178 states (including the Holy See and Palestinian National Authority ) and is United Nations, Union for the Mediterranean and European Union full member. It does not maintain diplomatic relations with:[88][89]
The Republic of Cyprus is not recognised by Turkey.
The 1974 invasion of the Turkish army divided the island nation into two. The internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus currently has effective control in the south of the island (59% of the island's land area) while its area not under its effective control makes up 37% of the island. Turkey utilising the territory occupied during the invasion recognizes a declared separatist[90] UDI of Turkish Cypriots in 1983, contrary to multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions. The two territories of the Republic are separated by a United Nations Buffer Zone (4% of the island); there are two UK sovereign base areas mostly within the Greek Cypriot portion of the island.
Cyprus is a minor transit point for heroin and hashish via air routes and container traffic to Europe, especially from Lebanon; some cocaine transits as well. The island has also been criticised for supposedly lax arms control legislation.
Although Cyprus became an independent republic in 1960, Cyprus has been a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations since 1961.
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