Office of the Historian

288. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Greece1

Washington, August 11, 1970, 2041Z.

129729. For Ambassador from Secretary. We note with interest GOG has announced, with some fanfare which has been well noted in our press, release of 500 prisoners.2 I have reviewed carefully your telegrams on your talks with Papadopolous in which you have pressed him to take two steps as a means to help us go ahead on the announcement of the raising of the suspension of the arms embargo. In view of this step on the prisoners, I would like you to go back to Papadopolous and tell him that if he can move quickly on one, not necessarily both of the above steps, this would provide us with sufficient help that we could then announce at the end of the month the lifting of the suspension. Either lifting of martial law or announcement of municipal elections combined with announcement of release of prisoners should provide us with enough ammunition to go ahead on decision with respect to arms you have already given him. I leave to your ingenuity how to put this to PM to avoid implication that we are establishing direct conditionality.3

Rogers
  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 593, Country Files—Middle East, Greece, Vol. I. Jan 69–Oct 70. Secret; Immediate; Nodis. Drafted by Sisco; cleared by Silva, Davies, Tibbetts, and Eliot; NEA, EUR and S, and approved by Rogers.↩
  2. On August 18 the junta announced it would release 500 Communist prisoners.↩
  3. In telegram 4600 from Athens, August 20, Tasca reported that he had had discussions with Papadopoulos on the issue of the lifting of martial law even before receiving the Secretaryʼs telegram. “Indications that I have received have definitely been on the discouraging side. Nevertheless I intend to make another direct approach.” The Ambassador added that he feared that he had pushed Papadopoulos as far as he safely could “without seriously risking provoking adverse reaction.” (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 593, Country Files—Middle East, Greece, Vol. I Jan 69–Oct 70)↩