negotiations to find a solution to the cyprus problem have been taking place on and off since 1964. between 1974 and 2002, the turkish cypriot side was seen by the international community as the side refusing a balanced solution. since 2002, the situation has been reversed according to us and uk officials, and the greek cypriot side rejected a plan which would have called for the dissolution of the republic of cyprus without guarantees that the turkish occupation forces would be removed. the latest annan plan to reunify the island which was endorsed by the united states, united kingdom and turkey was accepted by a referendum by turkish cypriots but overwhelmingly rejected in parallel referendum by greek cypriots, after the greek cypriot leadership and greek orthodox church urged the greek population to vote "no".