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  3. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, Soviet Union, Eastern Mediterranean, Volume XXIV
  4. Document 136

136. Message From King Paul to Secretary of State Dulles1

Athens, undated.

This is a private message for your personal information owing to my deep concern about the present situation.

My talks with the Government and leaders of the opposition have reinforced my conviction that your assistance in securing inscription of the Cyprus question at the United Nations would be the most effective means by which the United States can help to [Page 301] stop an alarming trend towards neutralism in Greece. There is general bitterness towards NATO. The positive sign of friendship evidenced by your support at the United Nations would counteract this disturbing tendency at a time when the serious illness of the Prime Minister is also likely to cause a political crisis in the near future.

The feelings of indignation of the Greek people with respect to the Turkish atrocities and feeling of abandonment by our friends run far higher than you may realize.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 747C.00/9–2055. Top Secret. A memorandum to Dulles transmitting this message noted that it had been delivered by the King with the request that it be forwarded immediately to the Secretary. A notation on the source text indicates that Hoover telephoned Dulles in New York at 1:07 p.m. on September 20 to read him the text of the message. A record of the conversation follows:

    “Mr. Hoover said there was a message in from King Paul of Greece, a private one, about inscription. He said that the Greek people felt they were being abandoned. He said there was more than we realized in the way the Greeks felt about this situation. The Secretary said he feared we were committed re inscription. Hoover said we were going to have to put our thinking caps on as to what line to take to make up for this action. The Secretary agreed, saying what we said in this connection would have a great deal of significance. They also discussed the Secretary’s conversation with George Allen this morning and about holding up the statement.” (Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, General Telephone Conversations) See footnote 4, Supra.

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