@article{article_1675664, title={A Missed Opportunity in the Cyprus Question? The Enosis Cum Dhekelia Base Formula and the Çağlayangil-Toumbas Talks (June-December 1966)}, journal={Journal of Turkology}, volume={35}, pages={278–305}, year={2025}, DOI={10.26650/iuturkiyat.1675664}, author={Yellice, Gürhan}, keywords={Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Çağlayangil, Toumbas, Enosis, Dhekelia}, abstract={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.}, number={1}, publisher={Istanbul University}