Soviet Commander's Reply To British Protest

Chronicle (Levin), 9 April 1948, Page 5

Soviet Commander's Reply To British Protest

(N.Z.P.A.-

-. Reuter .

Copyright )

Reeeived Thursday, 9.50 p.m. LONDON, April 8. Aecording to Ihe Daily Express Berlin eorrespondent, 0 eneral Sokolovsky rejeeted Cleneral Robertson 's request t'or a f'onr-Power mquiry into Ihe Yak and Viking- eollision and demandcd an assuraneo that British planes Avili not in futiire i'orce Russian planes down over- Berlin. The British authorities, says Reuter, are sending- a strong reply to Alarshal Sokolovsky whose reply to General. Robertson was dese.rihed by a British spokesman as "provoeative, impertinent, 1 ructilonl and obviously dictated by Moscow." The spokesman added that beeause oi' the unsatisfaetory nalure oi' Alarshal Sokolovsky 's reply . the British and American authorilies are reeonsidering the introduetion oi' lighter escorts t'or aircrai't entoring and leaving Berlin. N The American commander ((! eneral Clav) who desci'ibed Alarshal Sokolovsky 's reply as "most insulting and provoeative*' is in close contact with the British.

British G-ovemor's Request. The British Alilitary Governor oi' (lormany (({eneral Hobertson) sent a letter to the Soviet Alilitary (ipvernoi* (Alarshal Sokolovsky) roquesling a roiteration in writing oi' Ihe Russian assuraneo about the sat'ety oi' the air eorridor, a step whie-b most observei's in Berlin regard as essential, says- the Times' Berlin correspondent. Nothing has emerged to modil'y Ihe view that, although the Rus sian lighter pilot did not deliher ately rain the Vi'king, his aetiou vvas provoeative. The British aircrai't had the right of wny and eye-wit nesses had no doubt that the Russian pilot was demonstrative to the point of disaster. Sokolovsky 's Truculent Reply Alarshal Sokolovsky rejeeted Oeneral Hobertson 's suggestion that a quadripartite commission should investigate the Yak-Viking air eollision and has ngain laid the blame l'or the eollision on the British authorilies. The reply repealed the Soviet nowspnper alle galionsthat the Viking swooped I'rom a eloud and hit Ihe Yak and staled that the Viking was disobeying Berlin -air traffie regulations. "The reply said: "The attempts in your letters, and partieularly in the British lieensed press, to preseiil tlie air aeeident as the re sult of a delibcrate attempt on the part of the Soviet pilot ean be regarded by rne only as a slander wliieh has nothing to do with the aeeident and apuarently is design ed for provoealive ends. "As vou already know from our eonversation the ealastrophe oee.urred beeause the Brit'vh transport plane, of whose flight the' Soviet authorities had no1 been liotified. sud-!enly apneared from a eloud and hit the 1 ail of a Soviel training plane whieh alreadv had its underea rriage down readv to land. Thus we are dealing with a hreaoh bv a British plane of Ihe reyolal hmv laid down bv the Cnnfenl f'oir-eU n-ldeh i*e"1dted in H'0 death of a Soviet pilot and the destruetion of his ntaehine. T h' ])e vou e-iU o-ive striet instrue ti'fns that Bo-itish ulanos in futnre will nhey Ihe flyimr re^nbatioim la'd down bv tl\e All ied ,0 o"teol rouncil. This wiR'release ihe from

the necessitv oi' taking measnres to guard flight seeurity over the Soviet zone of (Jermany and parlieularly over Soviet airfields in the Berlin. area. "As lar as an investigation of the eauses of the eatastro])he is eoneerned, 1 have already proposed to you the formation oi' an Anglo-SoYiet commission to investigate the eireumstances and eauses oi' the aeeident. The Soviet representatives are alwavs ready to take part in the work of such an Anglo-Soviet commission. It is eompletely obvious that a Quadripartite Oomtnission is not called for and would lead ordy to delay in the investigation whieh would s-nit neitber tlie British nor the Soviet side."