Greece - US Department of State

Greece 781
ward elections in Greece to remove a troublesome and contentious element
before the U.S. elections. My intermediary reported that the
Prime Minister had received the above with interest and had shown a
wish to be as cooperative as he could. Specifically, Papadopoulos
replied that he hoped very much he could be helpful, that progress
continued to be made in Greece and that if everyone “remained in his
place” he hoped to be able to make the key decision within the framework
of President Nixon’s schedule.
3. While all this is encouraging and I intend to pursue energetically
the opportunity it represents, I must also point out the pitfalls
ahead. Young Revolutionary Army officers still follow the slogan “no
King and no elections,” and there are many in Papadopoulos regime
who lack his political sense as to evolution and prefer to dig in where
they are. This means that we must be careful not to embarrass him further
by public statements appearing to put him under foreign pressure
and thereby undermining his prestige with his colleagues.
4. Similarly, we must treat the issue of Constantine with care and
always with out prime objective of the implementation of the Constitution
foremost in mind. [2 1 ⁄2 lines not declassified] All this could change,
but Constantine has not yet seized any of the opportunities to make
his peace with the regime. I see signs of disillusionment among even
Royalist circles with him and with his prospects. [3 1 ⁄2 lines not declassified]
But with all the above in mind I recommend that whatever the
USG does in its relations with Constantine be closely coordinated with
me. A mis-step with Constantine could set back our whole effort to get
the Constitution fully applied. This effort requires reconciliation of the
nationalist elements—not further divisions—and must go forward in
harmony and in accordance with existing realities in Greece.
5. I have written to you in this private fashion to report the aspects
of the problem that are politically sensitive for the administration.
The basic intelligence information in this letter has been reported
via regular Department of State channels.
With warm regards.