271. Telegram From the Embassy in Cyprus to the Department of State0
359. Vice President’s Special Assistant Muftizade told me last night that Kutchuk and other Turkish Cypriot leaders were surprised and dismayed by press reports yesterday (Embtel 358)1 that GOC might withhold pounds 400,000 annual Grant to Turkish Cypriot communal chamber unless municipalities issue was resolved. Muftizade attributed this warning directly to Makarios as other details in press report about meeting with Kutchuk could only have come from him. Kutchuk would not now meet with him again as threat of this kind would make it politically impossible to justify to Turkish Cypriots further discussion with Makarios. Muftizade was at loss to understand why Makarios was creating this new roadblock and could only surmise Makarios was not prepared to compromise.
I asked Muftizade if they had completed their study of Clerides’ revised proposals (Embtel 355)2 and hoped Denktash would still be meeting with Clerides to discuss them, even if Kutchuk did not wish to. Muftizade at first said this also would not now be possible for some time, but after discussion agreed Clerides’ revised proposals had many advantages and although Makarios’ last tactic made further discussion difficult, it would be wise to move ahead with additional talks.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 18 Cyp. Confidential. Repeated to Athens, Nicosia, and London.↩
- Dated February 7. (Ibid.)↩
- Telegram 355, February 5, reported that a Makarios–Kutchuk meeting on municipalities failed to achieve any progress and that Clerides had provided the Turkish Cypriots a paper detailing Makarios’ proposals. (Ibid.) A copy of these proposals was sent to the Department of State in airgram A–1821 from London, February 15. (Department of State, Central Files, POL–Cyp)↩