February 18, 1959
LONDON AGREEMENT: An unscheduled meeting was held last night in London by the delegates of Greece, Britain, Turkey, the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot communities. Afterward the Greek and Turkish foreign ministers announced that the meeting had not been a failure and that there was a more than 50 percent chance that an agreement would be reached. The meeting is to continue today and, if agreement is reached, the treaty will be signed tomorrow. The disagreement between the Greek government and Cypriot Archbishop Makarios is due to the fact that Prime Minister Constantine Karamanlis claims that the Zurich agreements are a unified whole and that no details can be altered, as that would lead to a breakdown in the talks. Archbishop Makarios is trying to gain time, fearing the responsibility of making historical decisions for the future of Cyprus. MAKARIOS: London, 18 – Before tonight’s meeting, it was clear that Archbishop Makarios had been isolated. Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Averoff told the press that the talks were threatened because of Makarios’s insistence on getting his way. Makarios believes it impossible to sign an agreement that did not fully guarantee Cyprus’s sovereignty.
