In November 1973 Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannides came to power of the Greek military junta, with even less tolerant positions towards Turkey, so much so that in the summer of 1974 once again seemed to be about to break out a new war between the two nations (in theory allies in the BORN). In Cyprus the presence of the Greek junta made itself felt in particular with the role of the National Guard, whose officers were appointed by Athens: on July 2 Makarios published an open letter in which he denounced the manoeuvres of the Greek colonels to undermine his authority by using the National Guard and EOKA-B.

On the morning of July 15, a full-blown Greek military coup took place with the assault by the National Guard on the presidential palace, which took control after a few hours of fighting: the announcement of the death of Makarios was given, who instead managed to escape and repair in Paphos and from there to London, while the forces loyal to the President continued the resistance for a few days. The purpose of this "coup" was the annexation of the entire island of Cyprus to Greece (Enosis). Nikos Sampson (known for his actions against the Turkish Cypriots) was installed as President. On July 20th Turkey, after consultations with England, intervened militarily, officially to the rescue of the Turkish Cypriot community, and in the exercise of the guarantee recognized by the Treaties (England, Greece and Turkey had been appointed guarantors of the independence of the Island of Cyprus according to the Treaties of Zurich and London - 1959/1960). In practice, with the invasion (called Operation Attila) which materialized with a landing on the beach of Kyrenia and the launch of paratroopers on the mountains around Nicosia, Turkey aimed at a military occupation of the island. The Turkish army, at the end of the invasion, occupied about a third of the entire territory and sent away about one hundred and eighty thousand Greek Cypriot residents to the South. There is no definite information on the number of casualties following this military operation. Cypriot authorities reported the death of some 300 Cypriot National Guard men, captured by the Turkish army after landing and killed.

Reunification, the Annan program and entry into the EU

The results of the initial negotiations between the Greek and Turkish sides resulted in a broad agreement in principle to a reunification as a bi-chamber and bi-zonal federation, with the territory assigned to the Greek and Turkish communities within an united island. However, the agreement was never reached in detail and the two sides came to a standstill in particular on the following points.

The Greek side:

- firmly supported the return of refugees from both sides to the properties vacated in the 1974 move, based on both UN resolutions and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights;

- opposed all proposals that did not take into account the repatriation of the Turks who had emigrated to the continent in Cyprus since 1974;

- supported a stronger central administration.

The Turkish side:

- favoured a weak central administration presiding over two sovereign states in voluntary association, inheritance of the initial fears of domination by the Greek Cypriots (in majority);

- opposed demilitarization programs, due to security concerns.

Continued difficulties in finding an agreement presented a potential obstacle to Cyprus's entry into the European Union, to which the government had applied since 1997. UN-sponsored talks between Greek and Turkish leaders, Glafkos Klerides and Rauf Denktaş, continued intensively in 2002, but without resolution. In December 2002, the EU formally invited Cyprus to join since 2004, insisting that participation in the EU would apply to the whole island, hoping that this would provide a significant incentive for reunification. However, weeks before the UN deadline, Klerides was defeated in the presidential election by center candidate Tassos Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos had a reputation as uncompromising on reunification and based his position on international law and human rights. Shortly thereafter, the UN declared the talks to fail. A United Nations plan promoted by Secretary General Kofi Annan, based on the progress that had been made during the talks in Switzerland, was submitted to both sides in separate referendums on April 24, 2004. The Greek side overwhelmingly rejected the program. Annan and the Turkish side voted in favour. The overriding motivation against the unification alleged by the Greek side was that the Annan program did not provide for the return of all Greek Cypriot refugees to their homes, nor for the return to Turkey of all Turkish settlers, neither the withdrawal of all Turkish occupation troops, nor the demilitarization of the island. In assessing the result it is also interesting to note that while Turkish settlers (who make up the majority of the inhabitants of the occupied North) were allowed to vote, the refugees who had fled from Cyprus were not entitled to vote in a referendum which ultimately would have determined their future (their right to return their property). In May 2004, Cyprus entered the EU, although in practice this only applies to the Southern part of the island. In recognition of the Turkish Cypriot Community's support for reunification, the EU had clearly indicated that trade concessions would be made to stimulate economic development in the North and that the commitment to reunification in acceptable terms would remain.