Greek–Turkish relations regime, there were periodic crises with Turkey, which suspected that the Greek regime was planning a pro-unification coup in Cyprus. A 1971 Turkish law nationalized religious high schools, and closed the Halki seminary on Istanbul's Heybeli Island which had trained Greek Orthodox clergy since 1844. On July 15, 1974, a band of Greek Cypriot nationalists formed EOKA B, advocating Enosis (Union) with Greece and, backed by the Greek military junta in Athens, staged a coup against the Cypriot President and Archbishop Makarios. An ex-EOKA man, Nikos Sampson was appointed President. On July 20, Turkey—using its guarantor status arising from the
Greek–Turkish relations of sympathy and generous assistance provided by ordinary Greeks and Turks in both cases. These acts were encouraged from the top and took many foreigners by surprise, preparing the public for a breakthrough in bilateral relations, which had been marred by decades of hostility over anti-Greek pogroms, territorial disputes and the situation in the divided island of Cyprus. Ten years later, Greece has become one of the key supporters of Turkey's struggle to enter the European Union. Yet, despite the confidence Greece and Cyprus have shown, voting YES for Turkey in order to begin its entry negotiations with the European