Military history of the Republic of Turkey in foreign relations and join NATO on February 18, 1952. Following NATO membership, Turkey initiated a comprehensive modernization program for its Armed Forces. In July 1974, the Turkish Armed Forces intervened against a coup in Cyprus, organized by EOKA-B and led by Nikos Sampson who ousted the democratically elected Cypriot President Archbishop Makarios III in order to establish Enosis (Union) between Greece and Cyprus. The coup was backed by the Greek military junta in Athens. On 20 July 1974 the Turkish Army invaded the island from the north, landing in Pente Mili beach, near Keryneia. The operations (named Attila I
Rugby union in Cyprus Rugby National Team took place on March 24, 2007 against Greece in Paphos. The Cypriot XV won the game by 39-3 in front of 2,500 fans. In October and November 2007, Cyprus beat Azerbaijan, Monaco, Slovakia to win the FIRA 3D Tournament, a great achievement in their first year on the international scene. However, they lost the play-off game for promotion to level 3C on 6 September 2008 against Israel (which plays in the European leagues) by a score of 23-14. Cyprus now play in the 2B level, after winning promotion consecutively from the 2008-2010 edition onwards. Rugby union in