OPINION

June 20, 1958

MACMILLAN PLAN: London, 19 – British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan gave a long-awaited lengthy address in the House of Commons this afternoon on the constitutional future of Cyprus, a speech that had been postponed for 48 hours at the request of the permanent council of NATO. Before beginning the speech, Macmillan confirmed that the statement he was about to make was the same as what he would have said the previous Tuesday. He added that the British policy regarding Cyprus was chiefly aimed at: a) serving the interests of the entire population of Cyprus, b) achieving a permanent solution acceptable to both communities and to the governments of Greece and Turkey, c) preserving British bases on the island that are necessary to allow the UK to meet its international obligations, and d) consolidating peace, security and cooperation between the UK and its allies in a crucial region. These, he said, were goals that the British government had always pursued and which had inspired its efforts in recent months to find a basis for agreement. It was regrettable, he said, that these efforts had thus far failed.

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