Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, The Near East and Africa, Volume V

740.00119 Council/3–3047: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of State, at Moscow

secret

Washington, March 31, 1947—7 p. m.

739. Secdel 1402. For Secretary from Acheson. Urtel 1091 Mar 30, Delsec 1369.¹ In preparing background documents for use of Congress in hearings on aid to Greece and Turkey, certain confidential working or study papers were included containing tentative positions and recommendations which had, however, not been approved on highest level as official US policy and should not have been included. Among these appeared following statement on Cyprus “We consider the question of Cyprus one to be settled bilaterally by Greece and the UK. However, we favor the cession of Cyprus to Greece if such transfer can be made to the satisfaction of the two countries involved and if due provision is made for the security of legitimate lines of communication in the Eastern Mediterranean and for the protection of the interests of the non-Greek population of the island.”

At urgent Congressional request limited numbers of these documents were made available to correspondents for background and were not to be attributed to Dept or to represent fixed and final US policy. In rush of making these documents available, statement on Cyprus was indluded accidentally. Both Brit Emb here arid Brit FonOff² in London have been informed of unauthorized nature of this statement. Particular document containing reference to Cyprus was withdrawn and revised version substituted which made no reference to Cyprus.

Acheson

1. In this telegram, Secretary Marshall stated: “In view of the reaction which the reported statement is causing in Britain and the use that is being made of it by Soviet propaganda organs telegraph me the text of any proposal made in the Department’s presentation of conditions in Greece to Congress for transfer of Cyprus from British to Greek sovereignty.” (740.00119 Council/3–3047)
2. Telegram 1830, March 24, from London reported that a British Foreign Office official had observed to an Embassy officer earlier the same day that “the statement in the secret documents on Greece … might cause serious trouble to British because of reference to cession of Cyprus to Greece by Great Britain”. The Department in telegram 1460, April 2, instructed the Embassy in London to make an explanation to the British Foreign Office, along the lines set forth in telegram 739. (868.00/3–2447) Mr. Jeraegan’s article, previously cited, gives additional data on the treatment of Cyprus in the background documents.