<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Cyprus dispute, also known as the Cyprus conflict, Cyprus issue or Cyprus problem, is the ongoing issue of Turkish military invasion and occupation of the northern third of the island since 1974 . Although the Republic of Cyprus is recognized as the sole legitimate state--sovereign over all the island--the north is under the de facto administration of the self - declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is guarded by Turkish Armed Forces . Only Turkey recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, while there is broad recognition that the ongoing military presence constitutes occupation of territories that belong to the Republic of Cyprus . According to the European Court of Human Rights, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus should be considered a puppet state under effective Turkish control . </P> <P> Initially, with the occupation of the island by the British Empire from the Ottoman Empire in 1878 and subsequent annexation in 1925, the "Cyprus dispute" was identified as the conflict between the people of Cyprus and the British Crown regarding the Cypriots' demand for self - determination . The British administration shifted the dispute from a colonial dispute to an ethnic dispute between the Turkish and Greek islanders . The international complications of the dispute stretch beyond the boundaries of the island of Cyprus itself and involve the guarantor powers under the Zürich and London Agreement (Turkey, Greece, and the United Kingdom), the United Nations and the European Union, along with (unofficially) the United States . </P>

Power over the island nation of cyprus is disputed by (5 points)