Of course they play a role (like a thousand other things), but if Cyprus didn't exist did you really think the Aegean dispute would be much different? No. Greece didn't draft the 12 nautical miles portion of UNCLOS which is at the heart of the issue, this isn't a Greek law, it's international law. And it's not workable for Turkey, regardless of the Cyprus question.
Either way Greek/Turkish relations are far too complex to link it to 1974 as a causal factor. They have territorial claims that are centuries old. e.g. take Lesbos, quite clearly Greek if you ask me, but also insignificantly, was in the hands of the Ottoman empire for 400-500 years. Compare that to a US history timeframe and it's pretty clear there's some basis for both positions. All of it is political, relatively recent events in Cyprus are but one facet of Greek/Turkish relations and to be precise it wasn't so much 1974 really... The Turkish intervention against the coup that year tends to be viewed as a legitimate action. It's what happened since in 1975 and beyond, the occupation of Cyprus, which is viewed as illegal.
Either way Greek/Turkish relations are far too complex to link it to 1974 as a causal factor. They have territorial claims that are centuries old. e.g. take Lesbos, quite clearly Greek if you ask me, but also insignificantly, was in the hands of the Ottoman empire for 400-500 years. Compare that to a US history timeframe and it's pretty clear there's some basis for both positions. All of it is political, relatively recent events in Cyprus are but one facet of Greek/Turkish relations and to be precise it wasn't so much 1974 really... The Turkish intervention against the coup that year tends to be viewed as a legitimate action. It's what happened since in 1975 and beyond, the occupation of Cyprus, which is viewed as illegal.