Greece - US Department of State

668 Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XXIX
260. Memorandum From Secretary of State Rogers to President
Nixon 1
SUBJECT
Military Supply Policy Toward Greece
Washington, October 30, 1969.
Before making a decision on the question of whether to resume
full military deliveries to Greece, I believe that we should attempt to
persuade the Greek Government, in its own interest and in the interest
of facilitating the release of the suspended military items, to take
some meaningful steps toward political reform. I would have our Ambassador
discuss the matter with the Greek authorities, in a friendly
and constructive atmosphere, along the following lines:
a. The U.S. would like to have better relations with Greece and to
resume fully military shipments, but this is not possible unless we get
some help from the Greek Government.
b. Examples of the kind of help we have in mind would be such
steps as abolition of the courts martial, establishment of the Constitutional
Court, and validation of the suspended articles of the Constitution.
c. In continuing frank discussions the Ambassador would explore
with the Greek authorities the need for a real improvement of the image
of the Greek Government.
I further suggest that we should await Ambassador Tasca’s reports,
and his recommendations, before deciding what to do about the suspended
military shipments.
WPR
1 Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, Box 1235,
Saunders Chronological Files, Greek Military Supply 1/20/69–12/31/69. Secret; Exdis.