Research Article


DOI :10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664   IUP :10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664    Full Text (PDF)

A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966)

Gürhan Yellice

This study examines the 1966 Çağlayangil-Toumbas negotiations, a critical turning point in efforts to resolve the Cyprus Question, and the “compromise-based solution” approach adopted by both parties. The momentum behind this initiative stemmed from the 1965 UN resolution, which reinforced Cyprus’s “independent” status and enhanced Makarios’s international standing. As Turkey and Greece began to experience a decline in their political and strategic influence over the island, both countries responded by pursuing a comprehensive settlement aimed at preserving their influence, preventing the escalating risk of war, and restoring the Lausanne balance. The negotiations focused on a formula proposing Enosis in exchange for granting Turkey a military base in the Dhekelia area (“compensated Enosis” cum “restricted Taksim”). Although the parties came close to agreement and even signed a goodwill protocol, the process ultimately failed. The study explores why the talks collapsed and whether they represented a missed opportunity for compromise in Turkish-Greek relations. The central hypothesis is that the process was a “missed opportunity” for Greece and a “balance preserved” for Turkey. The collapse is attributed primarily to political instability in Greece, Makarios’s refusal to cooperate, and Turkey’s insistence on a sovereign base as a non-negotiable condition.

DOI :10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664   IUP :10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664    Full Text (PDF)

Kıbrıs Meselesi’nde Kaçırılmış Bir Fırsat Mı? Enosis’e Karşılık Dikelya Üssü ve Çağlayangil-Toumbas Görüşmeleri (Haziran-Aralık 1966)

Gürhan Yellice

Bu çalışma, Kıbrıs Meselesi’nin çözümüne yönelik girişimlerde kritik bir dönemeç oluşturan Çağlayangil-Toumbas görüşmelerini ve bu süreçte tarafların benimsediği “uzlaşmaya dayalı çözüm” arayışlarını ele almaktadır. Bu arayışın ivme kazanmasında belirleyici olan unsur, 1965 tarihli Birleşmiş Milletler Genel Kurulu kararıyla birlikte Kıbrıs’ın “bağımsız” statüsünün ve Makarios’un uluslararası konumunun güçlenmesi; buna paralel olarak Türkiye ile Yunanistan’ın adadaki geleneksel siyasi ve stratejik etkisinin zayıflamaya başlaması olmuştu. Her iki ülke, Kıbrıs üzerindeki nüfuzlarını sürdürmek ve bir türlü sonlandırılamayan savaş riskini bertaraf etmek amacıyla kapsamlı bir çözüm arayışına yönelmişti. Bu bağlamda yürütülen müzakereler, Enosis karşılığında Türkiye’ye Dikelya’da bir üs verilmesini öngören bir formül (“imtiyazlı Enosis”/ “daraltılmış Taksim”) çerçevesinde şekillenmişti. Anlaşmaya çok yaklaşılmış, hatta bir iyi niyet protokolü de imzalanmış olmasına rağmen, süreç başarısızlıkla sonuçlanmıştı. Çalışma, bu görüşmelerin neden fiyasko ile sonuçlandığını ve sürecin Türk-Yunan ilişkileri bağlamında Kıbrıs sorununa dair gerçekten kaçırılmış bir uzlaşma fırsatı olup olmadığını sorgulamaktadır. Temel hipotez, bu sürecin Yunanistan açısından “kaçırılmış bir fırsat”, Türkiye açısından ise “kurtarılmış bir denge” anlamına geldiği yönündedir. Çalışma ayrıca, sürecin tıkanmasındaki en önemli sebebin Yunanistan’daki siyasi istikrarsızlık olduğunu, buna ek olarak Makarios’un ikna edilememesi ve Türkiye’nin Dikelya’da egemen bir üs talebini “olmazsa olmaz” bir koşul olarak görmesinin de müzakereleri sekteye uğratan başlıca etkenler arasında yer aldığını ileri sürmektedir.


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APA

Yellice, G. (2025). A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966). Journal of Turkology, 35(1), 278-305. https://doi.org/10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664


AMA

Yellice G. A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966). Journal of Turkology. 2025;35(1):278-305. https://doi.org/10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664


ABNT

Yellice, G. A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966). Journal of Turkology, [Publisher Location], v. 35, n. 1, p. 278-305, 2025.


Chicago: Author-Date Style

Yellice, Gürhan,. 2025. “A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966).” Journal of Turkology 35, no. 1: 278-305. https://doi.org/10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664


Chicago: Humanities Style

Yellice, Gürhan,. A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966).” Journal of Turkology 35, no. 1 (Jun. 2025): 278-305. https://doi.org/10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664


Harvard: Australian Style

Yellice, G 2025, 'A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966)', Journal of Turkology, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 278-305, viewed 26 Jun. 2025, https://doi.org/10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664


Harvard: Author-Date Style

Yellice, G. (2025) ‘A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966)’, Journal of Turkology, 35(1), pp. 278-305. https://doi.org/10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664 (26 Jun. 2025).


MLA

Yellice, Gürhan,. A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966).” Journal of Turkology, vol. 35, no. 1, 2025, pp. 278-305. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664


Vancouver

Yellice G. A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966). Journal of Turkology [Internet]. 26 Jun. 2025 [cited 26 Jun. 2025];35(1):278-305. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664 doi: 10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664


ISNAD

Yellice, Gürhan. A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966)”. Journal of Turkology 35/1 (Jun. 2025): 278-305. https://doi.org/10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664



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Submitted14.04.2025
Accepted02.06.2025
Published Online20.06.2025

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