No. 369
Editorial Note
Secretary Dulles briefed President Eisenhower at the White House on June 23 for talks with Prime Minister Churchill in Washington, June 25–29. A memorandum of conversation on this briefing by Douglas MacArthur II reads as follows: “The Secretary indicated that the British would probably ask us to support them with respect to Cyprus. The President indicated general familiarity with this question. He pointed out that if Cyprus were returned to Greece, the Turks would probably raise questions and vice versa, and that a maintenance of the status quo was probably the best solution at this time.” (For text of this memorandum, see volume VI, Part 1, page 1071) Cyprus was not discussed in these talks, but Churchill stated its value as a military base after British withdrawal from Egypt. A memorandum of conversation, prepared in the Department of State, on the Eisenhower–Churchill meeting of June 27 reads in part as follows: “The Prime Minister went on to say that Cyprus and Jordan might be better than Suez for redeployment of British troops. He said that from such bases British forces might be flown to reinforce Malaya if needed.”