Capitalizing on the Cold War: Turkey, Greece and the Cyprus Problem, 1963 Turkey, Greece and the Cyprus Problem, 1963-1974
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ORHUN BAYRAKTAR BAYRAKTAR ORHUN CAPITALIZING ON THE COLD WAR: CAPITALIZING ON THE COLD WAR: TURKEY, GREECE AND THE CYPRUS PROBLEM, 1963 PROBLEM, CYPRUS THE AND GREECE TURKEY, WAR: COLD THE ON CAPITALIZING TURKEY, GREECE AND THE CYPRUS PROBLEM, 1963-1974 A Master’s Thesis by ORHUN BAYRAKTAR Department of International Relations İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University Ankara July 2018 - 1974 B ilkent University ilkent 2018 To my family CAPITALIZING ON THE COLD WAR: TURKEY, GREECE AND THE CYPRUS PROBLEM, 1963-1974 The Graduate School of Economics and Social Sciences of İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University by ORHUN BAYRAKTAR In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS İHSAN DOĞRAMACI BİLKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA July 2018 ABSTRACT CAPITALIZING ON THE COLD WAR: TURKEY, GREECE AND THE CYPRUS PROBLEM, 1963-1974 Bayraktar, Orhun M.A., Department of International Relations Supervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Onur İşçi July, 2018 The Cold War brought about not only a superpower rivalry in a bipolar world but also an environment from which relatively small and weak states could benefit. Taking into account the very existence and significance of the superpowers in the Cold War atmosphere, this thesis examines the Cyprus policies of Turkey and Greece between the years 1963-1974. I have sought to answer to what degree these two states have struggled to exploit the superpowers, namely the US and the USSR, in their own interests, and how successful they have been. In the light of the findings obtained, it has been seen that both Turkey and Greece did their best to win the superpowers over during all of the major crises (1964, 1967, and 1974), and accordingly, managed from time to time to capitalize on the cold war, in particular détente. That is to say, in a period when the superpowers went into the effort of de- escalating tension, especially between themselves, the two NATO allies, Turkey and Greece, began to rub shoulders with the USSR when necessary, and the Soviets remained an unignorable option for these two countries as long as the US did not iv meet their expectations. Crucial primarily due to its geographical location, Cyprus attracted the attention of the US and USSR as well, and the superpowers did not hesitate to side with any of the parties in accordance with their regional interests. Keywords: Cold War, Cyprus, Détente, NATO, Superpower Rivalry v ÖZET SOĞUK SAVAŞ’TAN FAYDALANMAK: TÜRKİYE, YUNANİSTAN VE KIBRIS MESELESİ, 1963-1974 Bayraktar, Orhun Yüksek Lisans, Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü Tez Danışmanı: Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Onur İşçi Temmuz, 2018 Soğuk Savaş yalnızca iki kutuplu dünyada süper güç mücadelesini değil aynı zamanda nispeten küçük ve güçsüz devletlerin yararlanabileceği bir çevreyi de beraberinde getirmiştir. Bu tez 1963-1974 yılları arasında Türkiye ve Yunanistan’ın Soğuk Savaş atmosferinde süper güçleri hesaba katarak geliştirdikleri Kıbrıs politikalarını inceliyor. Bu iki devlet kendi çıkarları doğrultusunda süper güçlerden ne derece faydalanmaya çalışmışlar ve ne kadar başarılı olmuşlar, bunun cevabını aradık. Elde edilen bulgular ışığında gerek Türkiye’nin gerekse Yunanistan’ın üç ana krizin (1964, 1967, 1974) gerçekleştiği söz konusu süreçte büyük güçleri olabildiğince yanlarına çekmeye çalıştıkları, bu doğrultuda Soğuk Savaş’tan ve özellikle de detanttan fazlaca yararlandıkları görülmektedir. Bir diğer ifadeyle, iki kutuplu dünyanın liderlerinin özellikle kendi aralarındaki tansiyonu düşürme çabası içine girdiği bir süreçte NATO müttefikleri olan Türkiye ve Yunanistan gerekli gördükleri ölçüde SSCB ile dirsek temasına geçmiş ve Sovyetler bu iki ülke için ABD’den bekledikleri desteği alamadıklarında başvuracakları göz ardı edilemez bir vi seçenek olmuştur. Coğrafi konumu itibariyle büyük öneme sahip Kıbrıs, süper güçlerin de ilgisini çekmiş ve onlar da kendi çıkarları doğrultusunda Türkiye veya Yunanistan’ın yanında yer almaktan çekinmemişlerdir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Detant, Kıbrıs, NATO, Süper Güç Mücadelesi, Soğuk Savaş vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor Asst. Prof. Onur Isci for his continuous support, for his patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. This thesis would not have possible without his guidance and very constructive comments. I am also grateful to the rest of my thesis committee Assoc. Prof. Dimitris Tsarouhas and Asst. Prof. Ali Oğuz Diriöz for their encouragement and insightful comments. I would also like to thank Asst. Prof. Selver B. Sahin for her support and encouragement throughout my undergraduate studies. I also greatly thank my dearest fiancée, Elif Gizem Açıkgöz who has accompanied me and never ceased to support me in this journey. I feel very lucky to have her. Last but not the least, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to my parents, Ümit Bayraktar and Elif Bayraktar, who have always supported me in every sense throughout my life and dedicated their lives to my education. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... iv ÖZET.............................................................................................................................. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................. ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................ x CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1 1.1. Prologue ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Methodology ................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER II: EXISTING LITERATURE ON THE CYPRUS PROBLEM ................ 7 2.1. Origins of the Cyprus Dispute .......................................................................... 7 2.2. Literature Review ............................................................................................ 24 CHAPTER III: THE TURKISH PERSPECTIVE ......................................................... 41 3.1. 1964-1967: Turmoil and Crisis ....................................................................... 41 3.2. 1967-1974: Rules of the Game Shift ............................................................... 65 3.3. July 1974: The Point of No Return ................................................................. 80 CHAPTER IV: GREEK DIPLOMACY AND THE CYPRUS PROBLEM ................. 98 4.1. Origins and Course of the Crisis in 1964 ........................................................ 98 4.2. Aftermath of the 1964 Crisis ........................................................................... 109 4.3. Into the Cold War Vortex ................................................................................ 117 4.4. Greece and Cyprus on the Eve of the 1974 Crisis ........................................... 121 4.5. The 1974 Crisis ............................................................................................... 127 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ...................................................................................... 138 5.1. Epilogue ............................................................................................................... 138 5.2. Contribution ......................................................................................................... 145 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 148 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AKEL Progressive Party of Working People CHP Republican People’s Party CPC Communist Party of Cyprus EDEK United Democratic Union of Centre EOKA National Organization of Cypriot Fighters NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization TBMM Turkish Grand National Assembly TMT Turkish Resistance Organization UK United Kingdom UN United Nations UNFICYP United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus US United States USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics x CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1. Prologue The Cold War was a critical conjuncture not only for the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, but also for the relatively smaller states that allied themselves with either one of the two super-powers in accordance with their interests and priorities. The latter half of the 20th Century was marked by incidents that entrenched smaller states and their concerned leaders, who sought alternative routes within and beyond their respective blocs. In Odd Arne Westad’s words, the Cold War was a global struggle and played a major role in shaping the relations between these smaller states as well as the structure of the international system. Decolonization was perhaps the most crucial aspect of the Cold War, which in turn determined the operational basis of the 20th Century inter-state relations. Formerly colonized nations declared their independence from their imperialist exploiters on the basis of self-determination. The struggle for independence and self-determination that gained momentum day by day across the globe following the World War II affected both internal affairs of the states and the course of their foreign policies. 1 At the heart of the Eastern Mediterranean