212. Telegram From the Secretary of State to the Department of State1
Dulte 14. Eyes only Acting Secretary for President.
Dear Mr. President:
The NATO Council spent this morning mostly in a wrangle about Cyprus which was inconclusive. However, during noon recess I had a good talk with the Greek Foreign Minister.2 He strikes me as being very reasonable. He indicated that the Greeks were prepared to support the constitution, which presumably will be proposed by the British, and apparently not press at this time for any action on self-determination. He said however that the result would depend very much upon whether Makarios supported it or not. He said if Makarios supports a bad settlement, his view will prevail, and if he opposes a good settlement, then, too, his view will prevail. He was very anxious that the British should consult Makarios and said they [Page 437] would, if permitted, send someone to Makarios to urge him to come out in support of the present British plan. Also, he indicated that if the Turks wanted partition, the Greeks would be willing to consider that.
I hope to get a chance to talk to Selwyn Lloyd about this before we break up.
[Here follows the remainder of Dulte 14.]
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 740.5/12–1256. Top Secret. Dulles was in Paris to attend the Ministerial meeting of the North Atlantic Council, December 11–14.↩
- According to Dulles, Averoff noted that the Greek Government was willing to agree to any “reasonable” solution to the Cyprus question and added that the Karamanlis government had taken political risks in attempting to maintain a flexible position. Averoff asked for U.S. assistance in urging the United Kingdom to consult with Makarios and the Greeks on Radcliffe’s proposals for a constitution. Dulles agreed to speak with Lloyd. (Secto 16 from Paris, December 13; Ibid., 747c.00/ 12–1356)↩