AGREEMENT REACHED

Chronicle (Levin), 6 July 1946, Page 5

AGREEMENT REACHED

Press Assn.-

Italian Payments and Peace Conference

FOREfGN MINISTERS' SESSiON

! By Telegraph

-Copyright

lxeceived Friday, 9.25 p.iu. LOXDON, July 4. The full-dress peace coni'erenee ! oi' Ihe 21 Allied nations wiJl bej g'in in Paris on July 29. The Big Four Foreign IMinisters deeided this tonight. The Foreign Ministers also reaehed agreement on a method wherelty Itaiy will pav reparajtions to Pussia after Mr. l\roJotov - 011 the oue hand and Alr. Bet-in and Alr. Byrnes on the other, inade a serios of concessions dui'ing the longest session oi' the coni'erenee, 7 1 hours. The Alinisters agreed in princijile : — Firstly, that Ttaly will pay Pussia £25, 000, 000 lo lie spread over seven yettrs. Secondly, ])ayments from eurrent pi'oduetion are not to he made dui'ing the lirst two years. Tliirdly, llie souree oi' ihe remainder of the reparations to lie set out in Mr. Bvrne's draft.

Mr. Xlolotov concedcd that the date of the Peace Conference sliould he I Ii\od. XI r. Byrnes had insisted tltat the j date musl lie discussed lirst because he j wonid not place hiniself in a position ; vhere it niight he said lie bargained J th.e reparations agreement for this : point. i Britain and America made the next ] conccssion that a porlion of the rep.'tru j tions puyment sliould cottle from Italian j production. j XI i'. Xlolotov, on his part, agreed to ; accrfpt t iio external Italian assets, exclmiing assets in the Jtussian Zone in I Cermaity, as part paymeut.. Xlr. Xlolotov and XI r. Bevin disagreed on the ainounts likely to he availahlc from internal and external sources. Xlr. Bevin insisted that every care sliould he raken in ostimating Ltaly's external assets and as a result the Xlinisters agreed that Aiubassadors in Kunie of Britain, Fi'ance, Kussia and America. forjn a committee to coordinate assess nients. Xlr. Xlolotov conceded Xlr. Bevin 's vvish that a moratorium should be declared on payment from Italian production.

! Xlr. Bevin conceded oue year of three ! years' defermeut which lie at lirst dej imiuded. Xlr. Bevin and Xtr. Byrnes, in arguing for a moratorium, offered to reduce the overall per'iod for payments to ihe oi' j six years but Xlr. Xlolotov not only I conceded the moratorium but also I agreed to seven years. j Xlr. Xlolotov turned down the Italian j vessels Faturnia and Yulcauia on the ground thtit tliey were of no use to Russia as passenger vessels. Xlr. Bevin proposed that reparations cluims agamst ltaly froni couiitries other than Pussia should be let't to the P e a c e C on f e r e ne e. Xlr. Byrnes' compromise proposals which formed the basis of the agree ment, provided for the payment by goods to the value of £25,00(),()(t() from the following sources: (1) A share of , factorv tool equipment designed for the manufacture of war inipleinents; ( 2 1 any Italian assets in the Soviet Union ; ('■'>) the Italian (fovernnient 's jiroperty rights and the interests of Italian nationals in Ihimania, Bulgaria, Kungarv and the Ihissian Zone in (iermany; (4) the Italian ships Saturina and Yuicania, which are to be reiitted in ltaly at the Italian OoYernnient 's expense; (o) the deliverv of tlie balance in goods, making up the £25, 000,0(10, to start within lliree years of the ereation of the 1 reafy and to be coiuplete.d within six years. Reufer's corresponcleiit s'nys tlie tiftli eon.lition represents u eoncession Lo a principle wltich Xlr. Xlolotov sought tlirougliout tlie Italian reparat'ions dis ciissions — lliat ltaly should pay repar ations to Pussia from current prodtic t ion.