NATO and the Cyprus Crisis of 1974

By

Vassilios Damiras, Ph.D.

International Relations Expert

It is time to present the facts of the Cyprus crisis of 1974. When Ukraine’s brutal and barbaric invasion happened, Greeks argued that the Greek government needed to remain neutral because the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1974 did not intervene to stop the vicious Turkish attack and aggression on Cyprus. In 1974 during springtime, Greek Cypriot intelligence discovered that EOKA-B was planning a coup against President Archbishop Makarios. It was eventually executed in July of 1974 by General Dimitrios Ioannidis, Greece’s new crypto-dictator and ruler. Ioannidis wanted to unite Cyprus with Greece. The coup was successful, and the Greek military-installed Sampson as the new President of Cyprus.

Turkey invaded Cyprus on Saturday, July 20, 1974. Armed troops landed at Kyrenia on the northern coast shortly before dawn, meeting weak resistance from Greek and Greek Cypriot forces. Ankara said it was invoking its right under the Treaty of Guarantee to protect the Turkish Cypriots and guarantee the independence of Cyprus. President Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger tried to do no avail to persuade Turkey not to invade. From a politico-military point of view, Turkey had the right to invade and stop the Greek aggression and the systematic genocide of Turkish Cypriots executed by Greek-Cypriot and Greek thugs. However, Turkey had no right to stay on the island after the restoration of Democracy. It is an illegal occupation.

NATO had no right to intervene and stop the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Specifically, NATO has no right to intervene and solve disputes among its member states. He can provide advice and consultation but not intervene and punish its member states. NATO is an alliance that protects its member states from external threats; then, it was the Soviet Union. Specifically, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. NATO was the first peacetime military alliance the United States entered outside the Western Hemisphere.

Moreover, NATO aimed to keep American troops in Europe, keep Germany checked, protect Western Europe from Soviet threat, and promote European integration. NATO resembles the Delian League alliance of Ancient Athens. NATO has become the most successive alliance and even kept the peace between Greece and Turkey. Currently, many NATO experts want to see Cyprus as part of NATO. Since the Cypriot independence on April 1, 1960, it was the plan for Cyprus to be part of NATO. However, Archbishop Makarios torpedoed the accession talks. Now the geostrategic environment is conducive to Cyprus becoming part of NATO. Of course, Turkey can undermine the negotiations. The future will indicate if and when Cyprus will be part of NATO.