Administration of the island of Cyprus is divided between the Republic of Cyprus (RoC), which is recognized as the de jure government for the entire island, and the de facto separatist State of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The effective border between Cyprus and Northern Cyprus is a UN-controlled buffer zone that follows the areas under the control of the two Parties following a 1974 ceasefire. The buffer zone is composed of three discontiguous sections, with the westernmost portion of the buffer zone surrounding Kokkina, a small, sparsely populated Northern Cypriot exclave. The longest portion of the buffer zone divides the island in half, beginning on the western coast and continuing through the capital of Nicosia to the edge of Dhekelia, a British overseas territory. The final portion of the buffer zone continues from Dhekelia until meeting the eastern coast of the island.

In response to a Greek-backed coup d’état in the Cypriot government in July 1974, Turkish Cypriots and Turkish troops took control of the north of Cyprus. On 16 August 1974, a ceasefire was declared and the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) recorded the positions of both States’ military forces. Since then, the zone in between these two lines has been under the control of the UNFICYP, and the areas on either side have been governed separately. In 1983, Northern Cyprus established itself as an independent State, which has only been recognized by Türkiye. Checkpoints to travel through the buffer zone were first opened in 2003, with more crossings having been established since. The UNFICYP has demarcated much of the buffer zone and conducts regular patrols.

The buffer zone, as administered by the UNFICYP, remains the de facto boundary on the island. The RoC maintains a claim to all of the territory controlled by the TRNC, but both countries respect the buffer zone as an interim border. While there have been ongoing talks between the two sides, a resolution on the disputed sovereignty of the island is unlikely for the foreseeable future.