According to a report, cypriot diplomats with the u.n. and an eu envoy are seeking to revive peacetalks on the divided island of Cyprus. Reportedly, Cyprus was under british rule from 1878, it formed part of an important trade route to and from Africa via the Suez canal. According to the report, under uk rule, 78% of the cypriot population were greek, 18% turkish; the turkish population favoured british rule, the greeks union with Greece. Power sharing didn’t work. Reported pogroms resulted in turkish cypriots withdrawing from government and moving north.
According to the report, in 1974 a coup on behalf of greek cypriots was followed by a turkish invasion and the partitioning of the island with barbed wire fencing and concrete blocks; now forms part of a u.n. buffer zone. Reportedly, the width varies largely from under 20 metres to 7 kilometres. According to reports, northern Cyprus is the unrecognised turkish republic of northern Cyprus. May be a sticking point in Turkey’s ambition to join the eu. Reportedly, the uk retains military bases in Cyprus as part of an important trade route from Africa and the middle east.