POLISH EMBASSY'S STATEMENT

Evening Star, Issue 23374, 18 September 1939, Page 9

POLISH EMBASSY'S STATEMENT

RUSSIAN PERFIDY DEMONSTRATED PACTS RUTHLESSLY BROKEN LONDON, September 17.. (Received September 18, at 11 a.m.) The Polish Embassy in London has issued the following statement: — “ At 4 a.m. on September 17 Soviet troops crossed the Polish frontier at many points. The Polish army immediately strongly resisted them, particularly at Molodeczno. Russia’s pretext to justify this flagrant and direct aggression is that the Polish Government has ceased to exist, and has abandoned its territory, leaving its population in territories outside the German war zone without protection. The Polish Government cannot discuss the pretext which Russia has invented in order to justify the violation of the frontier. The Polish Government is responsible to the President and the national Parliament functioning in Polish territory and carrying on war against German aggressors by all the means in its power. “ The Soviet, by this act of direct aggression, has flagrantly violated the Polish-Russian pact of non-aggression concluded! in Moscow on September 25, 1932, by which the parties mutually undertook to abstain from all aggressive action or attack against each other Moreover, the protocol signed in Mos cow on May 5, 1934, prolonged the pact until December 31, 1945. Russia and Poland, by a convention concluded u> London on July 3, 1933, clearly stamped as an act of aggression any encroachment on the contracting party’s territory by armed forces of others, also agreed that no political, military, or economic, consideration could serve as a pretext for an act of aggression; therefore the Soviet stands self-condemned as a violator of its own international obligations, contradicting all the moral principles ' whereon it pretended to base its foreign policy since its admittance to the League of Nations.” NO SURPRISE TO ALLIES CONSISTENT WITH SOVIET ATTITUDE SECRET GLAUSES IN GERMAN PACT? (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY. September 17. (Received September 18, at noon.) The Ministry of Information announced that the Soviet had communicated to Sir William Seeds (Ambassador at Moscow) the text of the Note. It was addressed to the Polish Ambassador, announcing that an order had been given to the Soviet army to occupy certain areas in Polish territory. At the same time the Soviet informed Sir William Seeds that it would pursue a policy of neutrality in its relations with Britain.

Obscurity surrounds the events of the last 24 hours arising from the Soviet’s decision. Official quarters her© are still awaiting details, although the telegram received from Sir William Seeds leaves no doubt that the earlier reports of the Soviet’s intention to occupy the, Polish Ukraine and White Russia were substantially correct.

It can again be emphasised that this move on the part of the Soviet does not take either London or Paris by surprise. Well-informed quarters here point out that it is quite consistent with what has been known for a long time of the Soviet attitude towards problems arising on her western frontier in the event of Poland being involved in war. Beyond that they feel that it would be unprofitable at present to speculate, and certainly, while no possibility can be excluded in the absence of further information, the tendency her© is to treat with the utmost reserve deductions from the Soviet action, which, while giving full value to the Soviet-German Pact and to the reported Soviet-Japanese agreement, appear to fail to take into account many other factors, including the natural conflict of interests in Eastern Europe between the Soviet and Germany.

The Paris correspondent of tho Exchange Company says that Russia’s advance into Poland did not surprise diplomatic circles, who are convinced that the German-Soviet Pact contained secret clauses providing for the partition of Poland. Moscow’s declaration of the maintenance of neutrality is interpreted to mean that the Soviet does not intend to come in on the German side. The Soviet’s Note to the Ambassadors and Ministers of all States maintaining diplomatic relations with the Soviet states that Russia would pursue a policy of neutraliay in her relations with their countries. The recipients were Germany, Italy, China, Japan, England, Fiance, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, tho United States, Finland, Bulgaria, Latvia. Mongolia, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Belgium, Rumania, Lithuania, Hungary, and Norway. FOREIGN DIPLOMATS RUMANIAN EDICT BUCHAREST, September it. (Received September 18, at 11 a.m.) A message from Cernauti states that the Government has notified tho diplomats of 37 countries accredited to Poland that they must leave temporary quarters at Cernauti and go either to Bucharest or to their homes.