In the northern part of Cyprus, Turkish Cypriots are celebrating what they see as their rescue from the clutches of the Greek-speaking majority after years of armed conflict over the fate of the island.

It is also a celebration of the founding of their breakaway state, which is still recognized only by Turkey, which still has more than 35,000 troops there.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will preside over events marking the “golden jubilee”, which will include a military parade, a visit by Turkey’s first aircraft carrier and an air show.

For Greek Cypriots in the south — where the internationally recognized government is based — it marks the anniversary of a catastrophe that left thousands dead or missing and a quarter of the Greek Cypriot population displaced. Commemorations include the unveiling of memorials to fallen heroes, church services and a rally at the presidential palace, addressed for the first time by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

After several failed United Nations-brokered negotiations to reunite the island as a federation of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot zones, Cypriots on both sides still hold out a glimmer of hope that common ground can be found.

But that is proving difficult, as the last serious attempt at peace failed seven years ago. After the talks ended, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots called for what effectively amounts to a two-state deal, an idea that is immediately rejected by the Greek Cypriots.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is now considering whether to seek a new round of talks, basing his decision on a confidential report compiled by his personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar of Colombia, after spending six months investigating both sides.

The European Union, which Cyprus joined in 2004, urged both sides to show “real commitment” to a peace deal in line with the UN-approved plan for a federal island.

“Too much time has been lost,” said an EU spokesman. “A forced partition can never be a solution. There is still hope for a better future, a united Cyprus.”