Turk sits down with Greek

last updated 8 January 2015

Nicosia, Cyprus

The island of Cyprus may soon merge its Greek and Turkish halves into one functioning country. Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash agreed this week to discuss reuniting the island. Cyprus, a former British colony, was one nation until 1974, when Greek Cypriots mounted a coup designed to make the island part of Greece. Turkey sent in troops, and the country split apart. Some 50,000 Turkish Cypriots demonstrated this week in support of a U.N. plan that calls for a single, federal government with a Greek state and a Turkish state, asking Denktash to drop his longstanding opposition to a merger. Membership in the European Union is at stake: The Greek part of Cyprus will join the union next year, with or without the Turkish Cypriots.