What i could do is to re-work the gameplay, making all region capitals neutrals at the start, rising the count of starting neutral to 8 (Limassol, Larnaca, Kyrenia, Paphos, Famagusta, Nicosia and the British Military Bases) ; everything else comes in the pot.
The starting regions will be 20 , with 2 regions for 8 players etc etc.
Quick eliminations can be prevented working on neutrals, even if i think that the possibility of being eliminated at the beginning is not greater than when you play on Luxemburg.
If it's better for you i can start to work on this different gameplay schema
