Canadian Policy in Cyprus

Abstract

Canada has played a secondary but significant role in the “Cyprus question” since its troops took up positions in Nicosia during the intercommunal strife of 1964. Britain had hoped to send a NATO or Commonwealth force, but such an overt presence was ruled out by the Republic of Cyprus and others. The compromise was a UN peacekeeping force with a strong NATO component. In international for a Canada has frequently pleaded “neutrality” because of its peacekeeping function, but on several occasions has shown it places NATO’s interests foremost. A 1978 “Western framework” authored by the US, the UK and Canada was unacceptable to Cyprus because it favored Turkey’s territorial ambitions and proposed a constitutional arrangement that gave the Turkish minority political power out of all proportion to its importance. In recent UN voting, Canada has shown that offered the choice betweenits “NATO function” and its “peacekeeping function”, the former will prevail.