Selection: Michalis Katsigeras

TURKEY’S PARTICIPATION: London, 5 – The British Foreign Office has denied that the British government (of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan) has asked Turkey and Greece to attend another tripartite conference on the Cyprus issue. The Foreign Office spokesman said that Britain had been in continuous contact with the two governments for weeks to try and ascertain a way to achieve progress on this issue. Reuters, which revealed Britain’s overtures, said that according to reliable sources, US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles discussed Cyprus during a working lunch in his honor held by the British prime minister. The announcement also shows that Britain would accept the Greek position calling for talks with Cypriot leaders. He added that the Greek government had proposed talks with Cypriot Archbishop Makarios. Clearly the British government has no particular plan at this stage but is sounding Athens out in an attempt to draw it into talks with Turkey by offering in exchange talks with Makarios and broader international participation.