Greek-Turkish friendship was destroyed in 1955 and has never been restored. Although Cyprus had emerged as an issue of dispute that year it was not the issue that destroyed relations between Athens and Ankara. Rather, the events that transpired against the Greeks of Turkey in September 1955 destroyed relations between the NATO "allies".

On September 6, 1955 anti-Greek riots broke out in historic Constantinople. The Turkish government of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes denied responsability for the riots: "He also disassociated the Government and the nation from the riots" (Rioting in Turkey called danger sign. Michael L. Hoffman. New York Times. September 17, 1955.) According to this same times article "More than 4,000 shops,mostly Greek or Armenian owned, were totally wrecked by the rioters the night of Sept. 6."

The Times further mentioned "Observers of the early hours of the disturbance are unanimous in reporting that the police did nothing to interfere for some time". The 1992 Helsinki Watch publication "Denying Human Rights and Ethnic Identity: The Greeks of Turkey" quotes the American consul General who was in Turkey when the riots broke out: "the destruction was completely out of hand with no evidence of police or military attempts to control it. I personally witnessed the looting of many shops while the police stood idly by or cheered on the mob".

The Helsinki Watch publication further asserts regarding the 1955 riots: "More than 4,000 Greek shops were sacked and plundered; 38 Churches were burned down and 35 more Churches vandalized and, in some cases, destroyed; more than 2,000 Greek homes were vandalized and robbed; and 52 Greek schools were stripped of their furniture, books, and equipment."

The anti-Greek riots took place in the aftermath of the bombing of the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki, Greece in which the house where Kemal Ataturk was born had also been damaged. Helsinki Watch addresses that issue as well: "Six years later, after a military coup, a Turkish court tried Adnan Menderes, prime minister of Turkey at the time of the riots, on various charges. The court found,among other things that the Thessaloniki bombing had been ordered by Prime Minister Menderes and others in his government to incite and justify anti-Greek violence in Turkey."

In 1960, a military coup took place in Ankara. Govermental and political leaders from the overthrown regime that had lost the favor of the military were put on trial. The anti-Greek riots of 1955 were addressed at the trial. The New York Times wrote on October 19, 1960: "The special inquiry committee has evidence that former President Celal Bayar, former Premier Adnan Menderes and former Foreign Minister Fatin Rustu Zorlu plotted the anti-Greek uprising to spark fervor for Turkey's cause in the long dispute with Greece over Cyprus". On October 26, 1960 the Times wrote concerning the trials: "The riots, the prosecution charges were designed to stir up Turkish enthusiasm in a dispute with the Greek government over Cyprus".

Through the Yassiada trials mentioned above, Turkey in an extremely rare act, acknowledged the state's responsability for the mistreatment of minorities. Menderes and Zorlu would be executed for other offenses. Former President Bayar would be spared due to his advanced years. The tactics used by the Menderes government in 1955 are similar to the tactics of the Nazis.In 1938, Nazi Germany incited it's own population to physically attack Jews and destroy Jewish property on the night called "Kristaalnacht", (night of broken glass). The 1955 anti-Greek pogroms with destroyed Greek shops, Churches, and homes recalls such barbarism.

Regarding the actions and attitudes of Greece, The United States,and NATO in the aftermath of the pogroms. According to a New York Times report on September 11, 1955:"The United States thinks Greece behaved in an exemplary manner following the anti-Greek riots in Turkey, Ray L. Thurston, United States Charge d' Affaires. told Panayotis Kanellopoulos Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, today". One can consider talk of Greece's behaviour in the aftermath of the pogroms with regard to the 120,000 Moslems of Greek Thrace. The attitudes of the United States and NATO were less honourable.

The New York Times noted from Athens on September 11, 1955 that "There also is criticism of the United States for not having condemned officially the recent Turkish excesses in Istanbul and Izmir". (Gruenther Acts in Turkish Riots. By A.C. Sedgwick. September 11, 1955.) The U.S. government showed immense insensitivity with regard to Secretary of State John Foster Dulle's referances to the pogroms as "the unhappy events of the past two weeks" in his letter to Greek Prime Minister Papagos on September 18, 1955. The late Greek politician and Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, writing in 1970 wrote the following in his book "Democracy at Gunpoint: The Greek Front" with regards to the pogroms: "Similar acts were perpetrated against Greek army officers and their families in Smyrna, the location of NATO'S headquarters in Turkey. The Greek army did not react, for it was the American's wish that they should do nothing to undermine the alliance between Greece and Turkey". Not only were Turkish citizens of Greek descent subject to physical attack, Greek officers serving the western alliance were likewise attacked without any noticeable protests from the United States or NATO.