270. Letter From President Eisenhower to King Paul I0
Dear King PAUL: I want you to know that I have given most careful study to your recent message1 expressing concern regarding the repercussions which may follow the application of the British plan for Cyprus.
The United States is gravely disturbed by the imminent dangers posed by the failure to reach a mutually satisfactory settlement of the Cyprus dispute. We have considerable sympathy and understanding for the difficult position in which Greece finds itself. I know you understand that since we are not a direct party to the controversy and are a friend of all concerned, we face real limitations on our ability to intervene in this matter. Nevertheless, we have been working quietly and urgently in an effort to find ways to reconcile the apparent British intention to proceed with initial steps to implement their plan with Greek objections to the plan. We will continue these efforts. It remains our fervent hope that all of those concerned with the dispute will seek a solution in the spirit of the alliance which binds us together.
From personal experience I know how staunchly you believe in the North Atlantic Alliance and the need to maintain Greece’s ties with the West. I am sure that you are distressed, as I am, to see how the Cyprus dispute is undermining the unity of NATO and hampering the effective cooperation of allies whose full energies are needed against the common threat. I have been particularly disturbed by the implication in recent public and private statements of Greek Government officials that Greece might be led to risk its basic ties with the West in order to protest what might be considered an unacceptable interim settlement of the Cyprus problem.
I hope most earnestly, Your Majesty, that in pursuing its Cyprus policy Greece will measure its immediate objectives respecting Cyprus against its bonds of interest and interdependence with the other nations of the West. I know that you and I would not want to see endangered a basis of our common strength which, after all, offers the best hope for serving the long-term interests of the Cypriot people, as of the people of the entire free world.
With warm regard,
Sincerely,2
- Source: Eisenhower Library, Project Clean Up, Greece. Confidential. Transmitted to Athens in telegram 1048, September 30.↩
- See Document 260.↩
- Printed from an unsigned copy.↩