Europe 357
MID#324
Started in May 1915. See the narrative in the 350 Greece/355 Bulgaria dyad dispute
list.
MID#1270
Dispute Number: 1270
Date(s): May 4, 1919 to October 11, 1922
Participants: 350 Greece/640 Turkey
Outcome (and Settlement): Victory for side B (Negotiated)
Fatalities: >999 deaths
Narrative: The Second Greco-Turkish War, fought between 1919 and 1922, followed
the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and long-standing Greek territorial claims
against the successor state. Greece used the occasion of occupation by the victorious
Allies to move on centuries’ old Turkish territory that had large Greek populations.
The Greek move was met by resistance and ultimately a war, which the Turks won. A
Greek retreat prompted the Armistice of Mudanya on October 11, 1922. The Treaty of
Lausanne, signed in July 1923, updated the previous Sevres treaty and gave Turkey a
more favorable division of the former Ottoman Empire than it was previously afforded
under the Sevres treaty. The Lausanne agreement mostly, but not perfectly, mirrors
the existing territorial boundaries between Greece and Turkey.
Coding changes: Settlement changed from Unclear.
MID#1279
Dispute Number: 1279
Date(s): December 25, 1963 to August 10, 1964
Participants: 640 Turkey/350 Greece
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (Negotiated)
Fatalities: 26–100 deaths
Narrative: Cyprus gained independence in 1960 under a constitution that reserved
the presidency for a Greek Cypriot, the vice presidency for a Turkish Cypriot, and
empowered both with a final veto. The vice president frequently exercised his veto,
and in response the president, Makarios, suggested constitutional amendments that
would create a unitary state with guarantees for the Turkish Cypriots. Turkey warned
that it would intervene if the constitution were amended.
Violence broke out in late December in Nicosia when Greek Cypriot police
insisted on searching a Turkish Cypriot car. The violence quickly escalated so that
the Greek Cypriots had nearly seized the Turkish portion of the capital, and Turk-
ish Cypriots appealed to Turkey for assistance. Turkey put troops on alert and flew
planes over Nicosia. In response Greece threatened to send troops to Cyprus if
Turkey did.
In late December NATO met in emergency session in Paris, eventually leading to
a proposal for NATO peacekeepers. Makarios accepted, provided the troops were
under UN command. On March 4, 1964, the UN Security Council established a UN