Chapter 558: Aegean Crisis (1)

The first update

Yanayev is not in a position to intervene directly in the Cyprus dispute, and it is not a wise choice for the president of any country to visit at a time of civil war in other countries. Therefore www.biquge.info the communication between Yanayev and Cypriot President Clerides needs to be communicated through the relationship between the presidential envoy. That's why Yanayev needs Primakov back as the president's foreign policy adviser. Primakov was much more useful than the Soviet foreign department on certain issues on which positions were not clear.

It was also Primakov's first political mediation after visiting Saddam Hussein before the Gulf War in 1991, when he arrived in Baghdad and the city was in a state of readiness, with tanks and armoured vehicles patrolling and Primakov's convoy escorted by troops to Saddam's residence. Just like Cyprus now. However, Cyprus did not have a no-fly zone, and the British Air Force had always controlled air supremacy, but many flights in and out of Cyprus had been closed after the outbreak of the civil war.

As the plane flew down the taxiway, Primakov was surprised to find that the entire airport seemed to fall silent, as if Nicosia had fallen into the environment of Baghdad after the war began.

When Primakov stepped off the plane, the tarmac was full of armored vehicles, and servicemen armed with rifles were on guard on the tarmac. Cypriot diplomats personally greeted Primakov at the airport and apologized to him.

"I'm sorry, but now Cyprus is in a state of civil war, and it is really our fault that the special envoy Primakov specially rushed from Moscow to such a war-torn place." The diplomat said apologetically.

"It doesn't matter, that's my job. For the friendship between Cyprus and the USSR. Primakov did not pay attention to the words of the diplomat, he had been to the more dangerous Middle East in those years, and he would be afraid of the civil war in Cyprus. However, on the way to the presidential palace, Primakov received some information about the civil war from diplomats.

Since the withdrawal of the US fleet from the waters off Cyprus, the Turkish forces in Cyprus have launched a counteroffensive, while aid from Ankara has been flowing to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This originally one-sided war gradually turned into a tug-of-war.

Although the Cypriot side was aided by the Greek army, the disparity in strength made it difficult for Cyprus to hold the two cities it had captured. Now President Clerides only wants to end the war as soon as possible and return to the point where the negotiating table is discussed. But that's not how the regime on the other side thinks.

With the support of the Turkish army, they were eager to expand their successes, and in addition to recovering Morfo and Lefka, they also wanted to usurp more territory and fulfill their dream of occupying the whole of Cyprus.

Turkey is also heavily assisting Cyprus in fulfilling this dream, and who wouldn't want Cyprus to become part of Turkey. In this way, Maziel has a springboard in the Aegean Sea, helping him to extend his influence to any part of the Mediterranean.

After listening to the diplomats, Primakov finally knew how serious the situation in Cyprus was now. In short, it was Clerides who believed in Mario's promises, which led to this situation. Primakov deeply regretted this situation and understood why Yanayev would let him go to Nikosia.

"How long will it be before I see His Excellency?" Primakov asked respectfully.

"Half an hour later, the president is already waiting for you in his study." The diplomat replied respectfully.

Half an hour later, Primakov was taken by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the president's office in Cyprus, and in the luxuriously furnished presidential study, Clerides was smoking alone with a frown, and when he saw Primakov, he quickly snuffed out the cigarette, smiled, and stood up to welcome Primakov's arrival. The parties are ready to get to the point and discuss issues related to cooperation between the USSR and Cyprus.

After meeting Clerides, Primakov omitted the greeting and said directly to the depressed president, "I heard that since the United States withdrew its fleet in the waters of Cyprus, the situation of the civil war in Cyprus has been slowly reversed, so who will pay for this civil war?" ”

Primakov knew that there was no way back for what Clerides was doing, and that if he compromised, it would be devastating for Cyprus.

"Who's going to pay for it?" Clerides smiled wryly, revealing the tiredness of not closing her eyes in days and nights. He coughed a few times, then said, "Envoy Primakov, do you know what the consequences will be if we choose to compromise? The offensive of the Turkish army will not stop, they will want to return to Morfo and Lefka. Then continue to advance south, as in the civil war of 1973, this time the ambitious Turkey may not be as simple as just grabbing 30% of the country. ”

"What about the Greek side? Don't they have any support? Primakov asked.

"Greece?" Leaning back on the sofa, Clerides vented bitterness at Primakov, "What is Greece? Can we still count on Greek selfless assistance? The Greek garrison in Cyprus is too small, and Greek aid is limited to arms aid, while the Turkish army has as many as 30,000 troops in Cyprus? How to compare? ”

Primakov's silence was silenced by Clerides' conversation, and it was no wonder that the situation in Cyprus was far more complicated than he had imagined, and it was no wonder that Yanayev would propose such an unbelievable plan to him.

"Now we're on our own." "We have closed the Nicosia International Airport, and the whole country of Cyprus has entered a state of emergency mobilization. We will call on all Greeks to fight for their homeland. We had taken in these damned Muslins because of their kindness, but now they want to kill us! ”

When it comes to the contradictions between the Turks and the Greeks, it can be traced back to a deep relationship. Historically, the Cypriot nation was dominated by Greeks who had migrated from the classical period, and even under the rule of the Byzantine Empire, they had not lost the core of Greek culture. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Republic of Venice briefly took over Cyprus, but at the end of the 16th century the Catholic League was defeated by the Ottoman Empire, the Turks occupied the land, and Primakov made a large number of migrations. The ethnic conflict between ethnic Turks and Cypriot natives, as well as the Ottoman Empire's policy of Islam, have planted a ticking time bomb for the long-standing religious and ethnic tensions in Cyprus.

In other words, the seeds of hatred were planted in Cyprus from the 16th century until they took root after independence.

After the defeat in the Russian-Turkish war, Cyprus was ceded to the British. The decolonization trend that followed World War II finally allowed Cyprus to become an independent country in the 60s. However, the 1959 Zurich Agreement, signed by Turkey, Britain and Greece, was simply a check and balance to ensure that Cyprus' independence was inviolable. However, Cyprus never seemed to be truly independent. Cyprus, as a country with two major ethnic groups, the Greeks and the Turks, became the center of the struggle between the two peoples after independence. The Greek-Turkish coalition government has been unable to agree on a number of issues, and bloody clashes have continued. The large-scale conflict of 1963 led directly to the loss of political power of the Turks in Cyprus.

In 1974, Greek ultra-patriotic groups staged a coup d'Γ©tat, overthrowing the government and electing ultra-patriotic Hellenists to power, which led directly to the Turkish invasion in 1974.

In July and August 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus twice, resulting in the occupation of 37 per cent of Cyprus territory and a large number of casualties among Greek civilians. In retaliation for their long-standing oppression by the Greeks, the Turkish Muslims carried out a rather horrific ethnic cleansing during this invasion.

"They have taken away the land of our existence, the paradise where we have lived for generations, but what do these Muslins repay? It was a horrific massacre! ”

It is no wonder that Clerides would say that none of the Muslins on Cypriot soil are innocent. They are all to blame for the death of the Greeks.

When Clerides stopped complaining, Primakov said to Clerides, "We are very sympathetic to the current situation in Cyprus, and I think if the Soviet Union can help Cyprus to properly solve this problem, then what will Cyprus reciprocate?" ”

"Huh? What do you mean? Clerides said alarmedly.

"We can get a ceasefire agreement between Cyprus and the Turkish regime in the north, but I want to see your sincerity." Primakov slowly revealed the conditions that Yanayev had given him.

"If the Soviet Union can guarantee the security of the Cypriot regime, then Cyprus is ready to accept any conditions that the Soviet Union proposes." In addition to the demands that threaten the sovereign integrity of the state. ”

"Okay." Primakov waited for the other party to say this condition. He couldn't wait to say, "There are two demands put forward by the Soviet side, one is to help Cyprus build a new fortress shore-to-ship missile defense system, and the other is that the Soviet Union wants to establish an air base like the British in Cyprus." ”

"Believe me, President Clerides, though I know you're tempted to stretch out your butcher's knife to the regime in the North, but not now." (To be continued.) )