Plucked from a conference table in Geneva, U.S. Under Secretary of State George Ball last week flew to Athens and Ankara as a special envoy of President Johnson. His job: to damp down the latest Cyprus crisis caused by the sudden massing of Turkish troops at the seaport of Iskenderun.
In Athens, Ball conferred with Greece's Premier George Papandreou, then jetted on to Ankara where Turkey's Premier Ismet InÖnÜ was already in receipt of a blunt message from President Johnson asking him to cancel at once any decision to land Turkish troops on Cyprus. Ball warned both leaders that the U.S. is tired of having to prevent local wars at the last minute. The knocking of heads together had a seemingly pacific result. At week's end, Inonu accepted an invitation to come to Washington next week for talks with Johnson, and Papandreou is expected to follow suit before the month is out.