Editing Cyprus problem (section)

===Deadlock and legal battles, 1994–1997===
At the [[Corfu]] [[European Council]], held on 24–25 June 1994, the EU officially confirmed that Cyprus would be included in the Union's next phase of enlargement. Two weeks later, on 5 July, the [[European Court of Justice]] imposed restrictions on the export of goods from Northern Cyprus into the [[European Union]]. Soon afterwards, in December, relations between the EU and Turkey were further damaged when Greece blocked the final implementation of a customs union. As a result, talks remained completely blocked throughout 1995 and 1996.

In December 1996, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] (ECHR) delivered a landmark ruling that declared that Turkey was an occupying power in Cyprus. The case – [[Loizidou v. Turkey]] – centred on Titina Loizidou, a refugee from [[Kyrenia]], who was judged to have been unlawfully denied the control of her property by Turkey. The case also had severe financial implications as the Court later ruled that Turkey should pay Mrs Loizidou US$825,000 in compensation for the loss of use of her property. Ankara rejected the ruling as politically motivated.

After twenty years of talks, a settlement seemed as far off as ever. However, the basic parameters of a settlement were by now internationally agreed. Cyprus would be a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. A solution would also be expected to address the following issues:
* Constitutional framework
* Territorial adjustments
* Return of property to pre-1974 owners and/or compensation payments
* Return of displaced persons
* Demilitarisation of Cyprus
* Residency rights/repatriation of Turkish settlers
* Future peacekeeping arrangements

====August 1996 incidents====
In August 1996, Greek [[Cypriot refugees]] demonstrated with a motorcycle protest in [[Deryneia]] against the [[Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus|Turkish occupation]] of Cyprus. The ‘Motorcyclists March’ involved 2000 bikers from European countries and was organised by the Motorcyclists’ Federation of Cyprus.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Efthymiou|first=Stratis Andreas|chapter=Nationalism, Militarism and Masculinity After the Construction of the Border|date=2019|title=Nationalism, Militarism and Masculinity in Post-Conflict Cyprus|pages=23–53|publisher=Springer International |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-14702-0_2|isbn=978-3-030-14701-3|s2cid=198621467}}</ref> The rally begun from Berlin to Kyrenia (a city in Occupied Cyprus) in commemoration of the twenty-second year of Cyprus as a divided country and aimed to cross the border using peaceful means.<ref name=":1" /> The demonstrators' demand was the complete withdrawal of Turkish troops and the return of [[Cypriot refugees]] to their homes and properties. Among them was [[Tassos Isaac]] who was beaten to death.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hri.org/news/greek/ant1en/1996/96-08-13.ant1en.html|title=Antenna News in English 130896|website=www.hri.org}}</ref>

Another man, [[Solomos Solomou]], was shot to death by Turkish troops while he was climbing to a flagpole to strike Turkish Flag during the same protests on 14 August 1996.<ref>{{cite news | title=1 killed, 11 wounded as Turks shoot at Greek Cypriots armed with stones | date=15 August 1996 |agency=Associated Press   | url =http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ST&s_site=dfw&p_multi=ST&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF90A39E013EF3&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM | access-date =29 October 2007 }}</ref> An investigation by authorities of the Republic of Cyprus followed, and the suspects were named as Kenan Akin and Erdan Emanet. International legal proceedings were instigated and arrest warrants for both were issued via [[Interpol (organization)|Interpol]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Jean|last=Christou|title=Denktash 'minister' on Interpol list over Solomou killing|date=11 November 1997|url=http://www.hri.org/news/cyprus/cmnews/1997/97-11-11.cmnews.html|work=[[Cyprus Mail]]|access-date=4 July 2012}}</ref> During the demonstrations on 14 August 1996, two British soldiers were also shot by the Turkish forces: Neil Emery and Jeffrey Hudson, both from 39th Regiment Royal Artillery. Bombardier Emery was shot in his arm, whilst Gunner Hudson was shot in the leg by a high velocity rifle round and was airlifted to hospital in Nicosia then on to [[RAF Akrotiri]].

====Missile crisis====
The situation took another turn for the worse at the start of 1997 when the Greek Cypriots announced that they intended to purchase the Russian-made [[S-300 (missile)|S-300]] anti-aircraft missile system.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Efthymiou|first=Stratis Andreas|s2cid=157301069|date=30 September 2016|title=Militarism in post-war Cyprus: the development of the ideology of defence|journal=Defence Studies|language=en|volume=16|issue=4|pages=408–426|doi=10.1080/14702436.2016.1229126|issn=1470-2436|url=http://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/5589/7/Stratis%20Andreas%20Efthymiou.%20Militarism%20in%20post-war%20Cyprus_%20the%20development%20of%20the%20ideology%20of%20defence.%20final%20edit..pdf}}</ref> Soon afterwards, the [[Cyprus Missile Crisis]] started.<ref>{{cite book |last=Efthymiou|first=Stratis Andreas|chapter=Cypriot Energy: Nationalism, Militarism and Masculinity on the Maritime Boundaries|date=2019|title=Nationalism, Militarism and Masculinity in Post-Conflict Cyprus|pages=217–236|publisher=Springer International |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-14702-0_7|isbn=978-3-030-14701-3|s2cid=198635065}}</ref> The crisis effectively ended in December 1998 with the decision of the Cypriot government to transfer the S-300s to [[Crete]], in exchange for alternative weapons from [[Greece]].