§ Q23. Mr. Mike Thomasasked the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his meeting with the Greek Prime Minister on 26th January.
§ The Prime MinisterMr. Karamanlis paid a short working visit to London on 25th January. During our discussions, which were conducted throughout in a spirit of great friendliness, Mr. Karamanlis urged on me the importance to Greece of a successful outcome of her 625W application for full membership to the EEC. He said that the Greek Government were concerned that the negotiations should go forward rapidly. I confirmed to him the British Government's full support for the Greek application. The British Government shared the Greek Government's desire that negotiation should proceed as rapidly as possible.
We also discussed other topics of mutual concern and interest. On Cyprus we agreed that the best chance of achieving a lasting and equitable solution to the long-standing problems on the island was through the inter-communal talks under the aegis of the Secretary General of the United Nations. Mr. Karamanlis explained to me the Greek Government's views about Greece's relationship with NATO and her attitude to various problems in the Aegean.