A TURNING POINT IN THE EVOLUTION OF TURKEY’S CYPRUS POLICY: LONDON CONFERENCE (AUGUST 29- SEPTEMBER 6, 1955)

Despite significant differences in domestic politics in Turkey, it is observed that there is a surprising continuity when looked at the foreign policy understanding that is followed in the Atatürk period, The single- party regime and the transition period to The multi-party democracy.The Cyprus issue, forming one of the obvious examples of this situation, has not entered into the interests of the Turkish statesmen with a political understanding that is largely due to the loyalty of the political order between the states envisaged by the Treaty of Lausanne. The intense cultural interaction with the Turkish Cypriot community was not conducive to a radical political maneuver other than political decision makers in Turkey encouraging the residents of the island for immigration to Turkey for many years.London Conference, making Cyprus as one of the red lines in Turkey’s foreign policy has not only led to a long period of instability in the Turkish-Greek relations that have evolved into friendship after the War of Independence but also caused a regional crisis. In this regard, the detailed examination of the London Conference, which announced Turkey’s foreign policy towards Cyprus to the world, is of great importance both in terms of contributing to the historical development of the the Cyprus issue and in terms of a better understanding to the continuity and change in the basic theses of Turkey in the Cyprus issue