85712 - London 1959

N. Lygeros

The Archbishop was under pressure.
He was threatening to reject
the terms of Zurich.
The pressure became stronger.
For him, it was impossible
to choose what to do.
The acrimonious meetings
were too hard for him.
The only thing that he was able to do
was to confide
his bitterness
at the pressures exerted
on the Cypriots
from all sides.
He saw the limits of his role.
Diplomacy was a jail.
By the way
they knew him.
The request was approved in 1957.
But…
“I am afraid that we shall lose on the exchange
and that M. Seferiadis is maybe rather
a nuisance here. However, perhaps in fact
he will do less harm here than he would in
Athens.”