This book is not another history of the Cyprus problem. It is an analysis of the forces and policies which led to the traumatic experience of 1974 and the geographical separation of the two largest Cypriot communities (the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots). Also, it is an analysis of those forces which keep the island divided. Why is Cyprus a divided island? What led to this division? What forces keep the two communities apart? Why was the Annan Plan rejected? How important is the role of the motherlands ? Are there any geostrategic interests? Why is Cyprus important in the geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean? This book deals with these and other questions, and the analysis is based on declassified documents and other primary material.