February 13, 1960
GREECE-USSR: Greece’s Foreign Minister Evangelos Averof received the Soviet ambassador in Athens, who has just returned to Greece from a holiday, for a lengthy discussion of the international situation, the international detente and issues of particular interest to both countries. After the meeting, the ambassador wanted to know if there was a possibility of increasing trade between Greece and the Soviet Union. He was told that this was not likely, as any increase would be at the expense of domestically produced products, such as timber. CYPRUS ISSUE: Parliamentary deputies Georgios Mavros, Constantine Mitsotakis and Ioannis Toumbas have submitted a question to the government regarding what they call its tactics of secret diplomacy on the Cyprus issue. The postponement of the declaration of Cyprus’s independence, they say, is causing concern among the public. Given the recent debate in the House of Commons when the world heard the British view, it is unacceptable, they add, for the Greek Parliament to be kept in ignorance of developments relating to what is a very important national issue.
