HC Deb 06 April 1960 vol 621 cc390-2
25. Mr. Callaghan

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will now make a statement on the negotiations in Cyprus.

37. Mr. Donnelly

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the negotiations in Cyprus.

40. Mr. Brockway

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent negotiations with Cypriot representatives on the extent of British bases in Cyprus.

Mr. Profumo

Since my right hon. and learned Friend told the House on 7th March that discussions were proceeding and that a measure of progress had been obtained, my hon. Friend's discussions in Cyprus have gone steadily forward and more progress has been made. In particular, the text of the draft Treaty of Establishment has now been virtually agreed.

Mr. Brockway

Is it not deplorable that there has been this delay in the initiation of independence in Cyprus? Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that the first item in self-determination must be the right of a people to decide whether they shall have military bases on their territory and what the extent of those military bases shall be?

Mr. Profumo

With regard to the delay, I think that the hon. Member knows perhaps as well as anyone in the House how difficult these discussions have been. It is not our fault if Archbishop Makarios and his colleagues have felt it necessary to discuss for days on end the problem of N.A.A.F.I., for instance. However, progress has been made. With regard to the bases, I think that the hon. Member realises and appreciates that we are trying to come to a conclusion based on the Zurich and London Agreements in which the question of bases was really fundamental.

Mr. Donnelly

Could the right hon. Gentleman be more specific about the bases? Can he say precisely what is at issue now and what stage the negotiations on the bases have reached?

Mr. Profumo

I am afraid that I cannot be as specific as the hon. Member would like. There is to be a further meeting between my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies and Archbishop Makarios and Dr. Kutchuk on Friday. If the House likes to know why it is not to be tomorrow, it is because Dr. Kutchuk himself had a number of prior political engagements. I hope that at that meeting the whole problem, including Dr. Kutchuk's suggestion, will be further discussed.

Mr. Callaghan

Is it not the case that Dr. Kutchuk is the only one of the parties concerned, including Her Majesty's Government, who has recently spoken much sense about the question of the bases? Has the Minister of State seen his reference to the growing misery and unemployment among the people of the island of Cyprus? May we take it that Her Majesty's Government will consider very favourably the proposal which he has put forward for having a base area of 100 square miles?

Mr. Profumo

I have noted what Dr. Kutchuk has said. Just because he has said something in public does not mean that my hon. Friend and his advisers have not been battling away very hard within the conference. I assure the House that they have. I am not prepared to make any statement about the size of the sovereign base areas. I am sure that to do so would be wrong. The fact that there are to be further meetings, however, surely must mean that we are examining the matter very carefully and I hope we shall continue to make progress.