Office of the Historian

315. Memorandum From Harold Saunders of the National Security Council Staff to the Presidentʼs Assistant for National Security Affairs (Kissinger)1

Washington, June 21, 1971.

SUBJECT

  • Calls on King Constantine

You will recall that at the last SRG on Greece2 it was generally agreed that Ambassador Tasca could pay a strictly protocol call on King Constantine.

At Tab A is an instruction to Ambassador Tasca to work out an appointment through the Greek Foreign Office. It instructs him to limit his conversation to an exchange of courtesies, solicitation of the Kingʼs views, briefing on the internal Greek situation as Tasca sees it and explanation of the present US posture. The instruction rejects the idea of Ambassador Tascaʼs offering King Constantine explicit advice on his role in the present Greek situation. If the subject arises, it tells Ambassador Tasca that he should simply suggest that the King maintain a statesmanlike stance above party politics. [You will note that this telegram has been signed off by Secretary Rogers and is a telegram from him to Ambassador Tasca.]3

At Tab B is a memo I sent to you earlier in connection with a call on the King by the regular liaison officer who maintains occasional contact with him from the embassy in London. You approved provided the King approves of US military assistance. He did last September, but I have added your thought to the telegram [see notes at Tab B].

Recommendation: That you clear the message at Tab A if it squares with your understanding of the Presidentʼs wishes.4

  1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 594, Country Files—Middle East, Greece, Vol. II 1 Nov 1970–31 Dec 1971. Secret; Nodis. Sent for action. Tabs A and B are attached but not printed. A notation on the memorandum reads: “Thru Haig.”↩
  2. See Document 310.↩
  3. All brackets in the original.↩
  4. Kissinger initialed the approval option.↩