TURKEY'S NEW-OLD RECIPE FOR CYPRUS: THE CYPRUS CONFEDERATION AS A STRATEGY TO SECURE THE TURKISH SPHERE OF INFLUENCE

The study integrates the Turkish proposal for the confederal solution of the Cyprus Issue into the broader framework of the common attempts made by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to safeguard their interests in Cyprus. It presents the common Turkish-Turkish Cypriot strategy, perpetuated since the midtwentieth century until today, as an attempt to safeguard post-colonial Cyprus as a sphere of influence. Based on this, Cyprus would be simultaneously a common sphere of influence for the West and a separate one for Turkey and Greece. After evaluating the federal strategy employed by Turkish diplomacy to establish Cyprus as a Turkish sphere of influence and the recent failure at the negotiations table, the study discusses the confederation formula as an attempt by the Turkish side to address the various challenges concerning the future cooperation of the parties involved in the Cyprus Issue.