NEGOTIATIONS FAIL.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 235, 4 October 1928, Page 7

NEGOTIATIONS FAIL.

Britain Demands Compensation, For Soviet Thefts. j RUSSIANS OBDURATE. (Australian and N.Z. Press Association.) LONDON, October 3. The 'T)aily Telegraph" says negotiations between a combine composed of the Shell, the Anglo-Persian, the Anglo-American Oil Companies and Russian oil interests have broken down. The parties failed to reach an agreement as to the sale of' Russian oil in the United Kingdom. The breakdown in the negotiations was due to the insistence of the British combine upon moderate compensation, in respect of British properties confiscated by the Soviet. This would have taken the form of five per cent discount. The British combine was prepared to buy $60,000 tons of Russian petrol, fuel i oil, paraffin and gas oil every year, apart from the existing contracts. This would have made the Russian trade with Britain 965,000 tons a year. The obduracy of the Russians was due to political reasons. Owing to Russian competition the Anglo-Persian Oil Company is foregoing its dividends, the Anglo-American Company has halved its dividends, and thefijell Company is paying dividends out of the profits 'earned outside the United Kingdom.