Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Volume X, Part 1, Eastern Europe Region; Soviet Union; Cyprus

255. Telegram From the Mission to the United Nations to the Department of State ⁰

New York, August 14, 1958.

Secto 6. Foreign Secretary Lloyd handed Secretary today following message:¹

“August 14, 1958

My Dear Foster,

Harold’s talks with the Greeks and Turks on Cyprus² have given us a very clear picture on their views. As I told you³ we concluded after Menderes’ visit to London that the Turks were prepared to go along with our plan. This was confirmed in Ankara last week. The Greek Government, however, made it clear to Harold that they still did not feel able to accept it as it stood mainly because they thought it would increase the Turkish Government’s right to a say in the affairs of Cyprus. We have tried to convince them that the Turkish interest is already there and cannot be ignored.

Since Harold’s return Ministers have looked at the whole problem again and have decided to make certain modifications in the way we shall put the plan into effect. We have designed these modifications to make the plan more acceptable to the Greeks without causing the Turks to run out. I am enclosing for your personal information the text of a statement which will be communicated to the Greeks and Turks later today and issued in London on August 15.⁴ You will see that we have dropped for the moment the idea of dual nationality to which the Greeks objected and we have held out a hope of some single representative institution which they wanted. As for the government representatives to which both sides attach so much importance in different ways, we have changed their status so that they shall not sit on the Governor’s Council: the Turks clearly would not agree to drop a government representative altogether but this is certainly a much less obtrusive form of Turkish presence in the island than anything like a Turkish base.

At the same time we have made an addition to the plan by providing for the possibility of separate municipal councils although these would only deal with communal affairs and are thus consistent with the idea of communal autonomy.

Harold is writing to Menderes and Karamanlis to commend these new arrangements to them. We also propose to tell Spaak and the North Atlantic Council before the statement is issued. We hope we can count on Turkish support and although the Greek position is much more doubtful we think there is just a chance that they will give their more or less grudging acquiescence. There may well be a sharp outburst from the Archbishop and EOKA ⁵ but that seems to be in the cards anyhow. But we hope to persuade all concerned that we have done our best and that it is now imperative to make progress on these lines peacefully and without renewed violence. I feel sure we can count on your using all your influence in this direction.

Yours ever, Selwyn”

[Here follows the text of the August 15 statement.]

Dulles

0. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 747C.00/8–1458. Secret; Niact; Limit Distribution. Repeated to London, Ankara, and Athens.
1. Lloyd handed this message to Dulles during a meeting in his suite at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, where they were attending an emergency session of the U.N. General Assembly on the Middle East (August 13–20). Lloyd informed Dulles that the British Government would make an announcement on Cyprus on August 15. The original of Lloyd’s letter is ibid., Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204.
2. August 7–13.
3. See Document 251.
4. Not printed. For text, see RIIA, Documents on International Affairs, 1958, pp. 383–385.
5. Archbishop Makarios publicly rejected the British plan on August 16.