Cyprus was a bone of contention long before 1974 (when the Greek dictatorship had hopes of annexing Cyprus to Greece, foiled by the Turkish invasion). In a sense it goes back to the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571 (from Venice). During WWI apparently Greece had a chance to get Cyprus from Britain by joining the Allies, but at the time the Greek government under King Constantine refused (Greece finally joined the Allies in 1917 after King Constantine abdicated in favor of his son).
Appreciated.