Throughout the twentieth century, relations between Greece and Turkey (and the Ottoman Empire) followed a chequered course, from bitter armed conflict and tense relations to cordial relations.

Poised as we are at the dawn of the twenty-first century, let us take a glimpse at the record of the previous century. From 1901 until 2000, leaving out the years 1914-16 and 1940-44 for obvious reasons, there are seven years of armed conflict (1912, 1917-18, 1920-22, 1974), 15 years of strained relations with occasional outbursts of violence, all on or with regard to Cyprus (late 1954-58, December 1963-73), 42 years of strained relations or cold war (1901-11, 1919, 1923-28, 1975-87, 1990-February 1999), and almost 30 years (29 and a half years to be exact) of cordial relations (1929-39, 1945-early 1954, 1959November 1963, 1988-89 and March 1999-2000).1