Greece - US Department of State

Greece 751
to discreet contacts with him being arranged for purpose of our having
independent assessment of his views on present situation. 4
Tasca
4 In telegram 6922 from Athens, December 30, Tasca suggested that Ambassador
Martin set up a meeting with the King when he returned to Rome and discuss the points
made in paragraph 1 above. (Ibid.)
300. Backchannel Message From the Ambassador to Greece
(Tasca) to the President’s Assistant for National Security
Affairs (Kissinger) 1
Athens, December 15, 1970.
60. Ref Athens 059. 2
1. Pursuant to guidance contained in your several messages, 3 I
met with Foreign Minister Lopez-Bravo on December 9 and had a long
and useful private discussion with him.
A. The Foreign Minister greeted me cordially and opened the substantive
discussion by recalling his meeting with President Nixon in
Naples in September, 4 and by commenting on his luncheon about the
same time with King Constantine, whom he had found to be clearly
interested in establishing rapport with the Spanish Government and in
seeking advice as to how he should proceed to get back to Greece.
B. Explaining my mission in detail following the outline of referenced
message, I expressed the President’s interest in closer cooperation
between Greece and Spain for defense against Soviet expansion, detailing
the strategic importance of Greece and Turkey not only to Soviet ambitions
in the Mediterranean but also in the Persian Gulf and the Indian
Ocean. The Foreign Minister followed this explanation keenly.
1 Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 423,
Backchannel Files—Backchannel Messages, 1970–Europe, Mideast, Latin America. Top
Secret; Sensitive; Eyes Only. Transmitted to Kissinger at San Clemente on December 28.
Received in the White House at 0021Z on December 16.
2 Dated November 30. It reported Tasca’s itinerary. (Ibid.)
3 Document 297 and backchannel message WH2209 from Kissinger to Tasca, November
27. (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 423,
Backchannel Files—Backchannel Messages, 1970–Europe, Mideast, Latin America)
4 See footnote 2, Document 297.