Selection: Michalis Katsigeras

CYPRUS ISSUE: According to telegrams from London yesterday published in all the British press, the Cyprus issue is entering a new phase in which the Greek government appears to view favorably convening a tripartite conference with the participation of NATO and US officials. Moreover, it said Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus also appears to be leaning toward this view and abandoning what they describe as his former “intransigent” stance. According to the same reports, based on sources in Athens and Nicosia, late last week the British government sent a draft plan to Athens and is awaiting an answer, if a positive one, in order to proceed with an official proposal to convene the tripartite conference after the Turkish elections and before the UN General Assembly. The Greek government has denied that any British plan had been forwarded to Athens and reiterated that Greece’s stance remains unchanged. The above report was accounted for by the fact that the Greek government is willing to take part in any conference on the condition that any proposed solution is acceptable both to the Greek government and the people of Cyprus.