The “Troubled Triangle”: Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus, 1940s-1990s
The “Troubled Triangle”: Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus, 1940s-1990s

Author(s): Nikos Christofis
Subject(s): WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989)
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Troubled Triangle; Greece; Turkey; Cyprus; 1940s-1990s;
Summary/Abstract: Greek-Turkish relations have been throughout history marked by a succession of disputes and problems. The period from 1930 to the early 1950s has been an exception. Indeed, the period started in 1930, when the Treaty of Friendship signed after the Greek Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, and the first President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal, came to the conclusion that a policy based on confrontation and indefinite enmity would not advance their respective national interests, and ended in the early 1950s, when the later prospect for closer relations when both countries opted to join Western alliance system and simultaneously became NATO members in 1952. Still, this period made it easy for Turkey and Greece to pursue common policies and strengthen friendship.

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