Cyprus Question: An Overlooked Crisis of 1964

This year marks sixty years since the signing of the August ceasefire, which temporarily halted the bloody conflict between Cypriot Greeks and Cypriot Turks. This contribution aims to highlight the key and often overlooked moments in the history of the Republic of Cyprus in the second half of the 20th century, which significantly influenced not only the events on the island but also international politics—both in the context of the Cold War and in the relationship between the Turkish Republic and a unified Europe1, Greece, the USA, and not least the USSR. From a geopolitical standpoint, Cyprus was a strategic point between the USSR, the Suez Canal, and Europe, as well as an important link to the oil fields in the Persian Gulf region.2 From the aforementioned, it was clear that the events of 1964 could not have escaped the attention of the key players in global affairs at that time, and thus Cyprus became yet another hot spot of the Cold War.