Solving the Cyprus Dilemma

Off in a corner, obscured from view by the European excitement over a single currency and transparent borders, stands a hard little nut, the divided island of Cyprus. Not even Richard Holbrooke, Washington’s No. 1 steamroller, has been able to crack it. A head-on approach never will. The salvation of Cyprus, populated by a Greek Cypriot majority and a Turkish minority, lies in the mother capitals, Athens and Ankara. That’s where pressure should be applied.

A historically Greek island conquered by Ottoman Turks in 1571 and subsequently ceded to Britain in 1878, Cyprus achieved independence in 1960. That was the high point of national prospects, which collapsed in 1974 with a Greek-led coup in Nicosia, the capital. Five days later an overpowering invasion by Turkish troops pushed the Greeks out of the north side of the island and established a Turkish entity recognized by no capital but Ankara. Separating the two sides is a long, thin line of U.N. peacekeeping forces.

And that, for more than a quarter-century, is how matters have stood, with Turkish soldiers holding the north and the Greek Cypriots’ smaller forces defending the south. Various outside attempts to resolve the problem have failed, blunted by stubborn resistance.

But times change. While Cyprus seethed, Europe developed into a powerful trade bloc and established the European Union. Entrance meant clout, and Athens made the cut. Turkey didn’t, the result of Greek opposition and centuries-old antipathies between Turks and Europeans. With both Greece and Turkey members of the NATO alliance, the dispute over Cyprus has thrown a shadow far larger than it should.

There’s the immediate matter of the Greek Cypriot government’s purchase of Russian antiaircraft missiles. If they are delivered as scheduled later this year, Turkey has threatened to do something about them.

Washington, London and other capitals with influence on either side of the Cypriot dividing line should move now and keep the pressure on, to persuade Athens and Ankara to forestall and avert this dangerous moment.

Europe and the world would welcome a unified Cyprus, and leaders of both sectors know that. For the sake of all Cypriots, and European security, sensible compromises should be pressed by Washington, Ankara, Athens and the other countries.