Turkey's subsequent decades-long occupation of northern Cyprus has attracted widespread international condemnation.
[3] On August 2, 1975, the two parties reached in Vienna the Voluntary Exchange of Population Agreement, implemented under United Nations auspices.
[4] After that, the separation of the two communities via the UN-patrolled Green Line prohibited the return of all internally displaced people.
[citation needed] In 1990, applications filed with the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of 18 Greek Cypriots in the case of Varnava and Others v. Turkey, resulted in a decision on 18 September 2009 which ordered Turkey to pay €12,000 within three months to every applicant for non-pecuniary damages and €8,000 for costs and expenses.
A new round of talks was initiated in 2008 between the leaders of the two Cypriot communities, Dimitris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat.
In October 2009, a lawsuit was brought against the TRNC Representative Offices and HSBC in Washington for the sale of Greek-Cypriot properties in Northern Cyprus.
The government of USA considers Greek Cypriots displaced as a result of the 1974 division of the island to be "refugees".