Further information to debunk Unicorn\'s assertion that NATO paved the way for a "Turkish" invasion of Cyprus.
After 1967 some hopes arose that a compromise on separate municipalities could be achieved in negotiations between Glafcos Clerides and Rauf Denktash and certainly agreement came close, but the Makarios government could not accept de jure separateness, which would have denied the principle of the unitary, if bi-communal, state. Inter-communal strife was also overshadowed during this period by a serious rift on the Greek side, between Makarios and the enosist National Front supported by the Greek junta. Makarios had now become an obstacle to enosis. An attempt was made on his life, and Grivas returned in 1971 to head a new organi- sation, EOKA-B, with Makarios, rather than the Turkish-Cypriots, in its sight. Makarios was told from Athens to dismiss his foreign minister and to regard Athens as the National Centre. Makarios rallied supporters successfully against attempts to remove him. He was still popular in Cyprus.
Matters became worse when a new junta came to power in September 1973, and there was less relief from rightist pressure than might have been expected when Grivas died suddenly in January 1974. The pressure mounted until a coup in July 1974 led by a `hammer of the Turks\' Nicos Sampson, overthrew Makarios, who managed to flee the country via a British base. For Turkey this raised the spectre of Greek control of Cyprus.
The Turkish government therefore now demanded that Greece should dismiss Sampson, withdraw all Greek officers from the island and respect the island\'s independence. The junta prevaricated. For the United States, Kissinger did not seem to be greatly disturbed by the Sampson coup and looked as if he could accept enosis. Turkish Prime Minister Ecevit\'s assertiveness in foreign policy, reinforced by his junior coalition partner strongly inclined the Turks to intervene. The British were invited to participate in military operations, under the Treaty of Guarantee, but declined. The American envoy Joseph Sisco tried unsuccessfully to persuade the Greek junta to accept Ecevit\'s conditions for a Cyprus settlement, which included Turkish-Cypriot control of a coastal region in the north and negotiations for a federal solution. The Soviet Union stood aside not wanting to see enosis, which would strengthen NATO and weaken the left in Cyprus.
