A frozen conflict in Cyprus: Closed Maraş

The Cyprus Problem is one of the most protracted disputes on the international political agenda. The chronicity of the dispute stems from the fact that it has been taken out of its original context over the years, and other problematic issues have been added to it. In today's conjuncture, the Cyprus Problem is neither an ethnic dispute between the two communities nor is it simply a Turkish-Greek conflict. In the post-Cold War era, a process has begun in which many actors compete over strategic regions worldwide. In this sense, the Eastern Mediterranean region has become an area of struggle where powerful actors compete. The Cyprus Problem, which has been waiting to be resolved on the table of the state parties for years, has come to the fore again. The equation in the Eastern Mediterranean has become more difficult to solve, and the balance of power has become harder to maintain. As a result, there have been moves to change the status quo on the island of Cyprus, the gateway to the Eastern Mediterranean. On August 16, 1974, one of these moves was the partial opening of the Closed Maraş (Varosha) area, which has been under the control of the Turkish Armed Forces since the Second Cyprus Peace Operation, to the public with the unilateral will of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. When the literature is reviewed, the lack of a current scientific study focusing on the issue of the Closed Maraş (Varosha) in the context of the Cyprus Problem has revealed the need to study this issue. This study has been prepared in order to close the gap in the literature by addressing the issue of Closed Maraş (Varosha) with its legal, economic and political dimensions within the framework of international politics.