Cyprus is a unique country divided between the Greeks and the Turks. The Greeks had wanted Enosis (reunification) but the Turks would not allow Cyprus to become part of Greece. As a result Cyprus gained its independence in 1960 and Archbishop Makarios III became the first president of the independent nation. Cypriot nationalism and Communism shared an identity because of the Cypriot Communist party's inclusive nature and strong political presence in Cyprus. Against the backdrop of The Cold War, Britain and the U.S. feared the interwoven nature of nationalism and Communism as a threat to western democracy and were anxious Cyprus would lead to a spread of Communism in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Cypriots themselves could not find a common ethnic identity because of the Greek and Turkish division, therefore the rise of the Communist Party created a shared entity not available through their ethnic ties.