MUST SHOW SINCERITY

Chronicle (Levin), 8 February 1949, Page 5

MUST SHOW SINCERITY

(N.Z.P.A.-

-Reviei

Russians and Prospects of World Peace

r„ CQzyright)

Received Monday, 7 p.m. LONDON, Feb. 7. British weeklies which not only re flect informed opinion but also play an important part - in forming public opinion in Britain, all devote articles to the possibilties of a meeting between fresident Truman and Marshal Stalin Srieflly summed up, their opinion is that such a meeting shouild not be ruled out entirely but that it should noi be held unless and until Russia has pven a firm indication that she is sin cere in her peace overtures and can bc. relied upon to keep agreements u. iuture — which has not been the case m uhe pafet. Remarking that AJarshal Stalin h peace offers are becoming almost irre sistibly comic, the Economist says his aini is elear. The Russians do not lik> developments which the excesses of their policv brought into being and they are disturbed by the rearinanieut 'of their more powerfui neighbours, They wish to detach the United Htate.t'rom its close alliance with Western Europe and halt the development oi vVestern poiicy in Germany. The fact that Western policies oi rearmament, the Atlantic Alliance and the inclusion of Western Germany ir. che Western orbit have struck home and aroused Soviet apprehension, ciearly proves that the general concepi of Western strategy is correct and tha. the mixture of internai consolidation and external firmness is beginnmg to make itself felt. • There should, there fore, be no inclination in Western circles to modify one jot of the present grand strategy simply because Marshai Stalin has chosen to express his concern at its development. There is, continues The Economist. every wish in the West to seek agreement but the probleni is the proper method to adopt at this stage. In the past .negotiations have alwavs broken down on concrete points and concrete issues niust therefore be the test for judging wliether a meeting of heads oi' State is really worthwhile. At the moment, continues The Economist, there are th-ree elear imme diate issues upon which an assessmenl of Russian sincerity can be based Firstly, there is disarmament which can be taken up at the next Geaera. Asseniblv at the point where discussion. iiroke down last autumn; secondly. there is the Berlin currency dispute which is shortly to be the subject of a report by the neutral commission. This "eport coulcl give the Russians the op portunity of cancelling the veto rejecting a compromise approach to tluBerlin problem. Thirdly, a" meetings oi the Foreign Alinisters' deputics ou February 9, to reopen talks ou the Aus trian treaty, gives the Soviet the opportunitv of showing whether then peace offers imply a genuine cotnpromise. The Economist declares that untii Russian sincerity has passed a genuine test, the Western Powers will continuc undisturbed in their own efforts to con solidate the security and expand the prosperity of the "Western half". The Spectator points out that ther.s .llways appear at least two authorita five voices directly emanating from the Kremlin. It asks whether such confradiction has been deliberately eoncerted to cause bewilderment and pos sibly division or whether it would be safe to assume that if an agreement with Alarshal Stalin could be reached, it would be honoured and a new era opened in Europe. But, it adds, since such questions cannot be confidently answered, the Western Allies must shape their poiicy circuinspectly in the light of all the relevant factors, While it feels that a Truman-Stalin meeting should be explored a little fur-ther, it declares that it is imperative that the. Allies should not be defleeted from their present policies as Russia is obviously endeavouring to defleet them. !

The Tribune reviews the Soviet conference technique of exchanging precise, immediate and dramutic advantages for themselves and giving, in return, vague, hypothetical, debatable ;assurances which later have been broken. This assisted Soviet aims but hamstrung the Allies and no so-cailed .Stalin peace offer must be allowed to reopen the door to a repetition of this minous poliey.

Russia, it says, is ciearly impressed by the strides made in the West aho would like to bring the whole structure crashing to the ground but it would be tolly and worse for the Western Allies to ahandon or slacken their poiicy in exchange for delusive ' ' peace ' ' pact promises. The Tribune feels that only when the Soviet rulers see their hopes of political advance in the outside f world successfully countered and fading, will their fundamental policies change. It is idle, it says, to imagine that they have come anywhere near that point yet. Quiek, dramatie decisions, therefore, are extremely improbable. The New Statesman and Nation says another "peace pact" in general terms will mean notliing to anybody but a « actual truce which brihgs iighting 10 an end or lessens tension anywhere, would bring new hope to the world. America' s reply should therefore include a welcome to Stalin 's message combined with an invitation to reduee the general to the particular. The iirst test should be a readiness to reaeli an immediate peace settlement for Austria. ,