319. Telegram From the Embassy in Greece to the Department of State1
Athens, November 23, 1967,
2322Z.
2354. Vanto 6. For the President, Secretary Rusk and Secretary McNamara.
- 1.
- I have completed my first round of talks in Ankara with President Sunay, Prime Minister Demirel and Foreign Minister Caglayangil.2 [Page 661] Throughout the Turks maintained a consistently hard position which apparently reflects a concerted Cabinet decision.
- 2.
- While the dangers of a military confrontation are acute, none of us believe the Turks will attack while my mission remains in the area, thus, we probably have some time to try to find an effective handle to this problem but the grip is short.
- 3.
- The Turks are clearly in a dangerous, fatalistic mood. After four years of what they consider to have [garble] painful salami tactics on Cyprus, they claim they will pay no more. The situation is described in simplistic terms of Greek illegality and villainy and Turkish suffering. They assert that their honor is at stake, and popular passions in the country are so high that a catalytic explosion is in the offing. The only possible way out, in their opinion, is a virtually immediate Greek decision to commence withdrawing its “illegal” military units on Cyprus.
- 4.
- This is heady stuff. Yet, throughout we were received with courtesy and friendship. Beneath the harsh description of the imperatives of the situation we sense a Turkish hope that we can pull a rabbit out of the essentially ultimative hat they have presented to us. This is going to take some doing but we are still in the ball game.
- 5.
- Detailed account of conversations follows. Septel submitted from Ankara in Vanto series on Sunay conversation.
Talbot