On February 11, 1959, the headline that dominates the front page of Kathimerini reads: “Agreement between Greece and Turkey in Zurich – The Constitution of the ‘Republic of Cyprus’ has been adopted.”

The article notes: “The Correspondent of Corporate Press reported in the evening that Greece and Turkey had reached an agreement on the Cyprus issue. The two countries agreed that a limited military force would be stationed in Cyprus to secure the island’s future independence. They also agreed that British troops should remain on the island.

This agreement was reached after an afternoon meeting between the prime ministers of Greece and Turkey. Karamanli and Menderes, which lasted an hour and a half.

In essence, the Zurich Agreement provided for the creation of an independent state, the Republic of Cyprus, excluding, respectively, union and partition.

It also included the main provisions of the Cypriot constitution based on the recognition of the autonomy of the communities.

On February 17, 1959, a conference begins at Lancaster House, and a few days later Great Britain accepts the Zurich Agreement, on the condition that it retains two military bases in the Akrotiri and Decelia regions under its full sovereignty. For his part, Makarios also accepts the London Agreement despite his misgivings.

“A free, independent ‘Republic of Cyprus’ has already become a historical reality since yesterday,” reads the front page of the February 20 issue of Kathimerini.

However, in his main article, he warns: “However, it must not escape us that our insignificant obligations to a future free Cyprus have not been fulfilled.

On the contrary, we now have a lot of things to do for the island. Without interfering in her internal affairs, we must give her all our love.

Everything that we can, as a Greek state, Greek society and Greek economy, we have to offer.

In particular, let us contribute to the speedy healing of the wounds opened by the heroic struggle of our noble Cypriot brothers.”