June 5, 1954
TRIPARTITE ALLIANCE: The prime minister, Field Marshal Alexandros Papagos, (…) made the following statement yesterday: «(…) The visit by Field Marshal Tito will do much to strengthen the already close bonds linking Greece and Yugoslavia, countries which have always supported each other and have always benefited from their cooperation. (…) We have decided to convert the Tripartite Balkan Pact of Ankara into an alliance.» US-BRITISH INTERVENTION: London, 4 – Britain and the United States have warned Greece and Turkey that they should have postponed converting the Balkan Pact into an alliance until a solution was found to the problem of Trieste (between Italy and Yugoslavia). A statement to this effect was made today by a representative of the Foreign Office. First of all, he said, Britain has always welcomed the strengthening of bonds between the three Balkan states (Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia). «In any case, the prevailing impression is that in Britain’s view, the strengthening of these bonds should be postponed until the dispute over Trieste is resolved, out of consideration for Italy.»
