POPULAR MOVE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20914, 14 October 1942, Page 3

POPULAR MOVE

DIPLOMATIC PACT AUSTRALIA AND SOVIET “GREAT SIGNIFICANCE” (Special Australian Correspondent.) (9 a.m.) SYDNEY, Oct. 14. The possible despatch of an Australian military mission to Russia was discussed To-day by the Australian Minister of External Affairs, Dr. H. V. Evatt, and the newly-appointed Minister to Russia, Mr. William Slater. The mission would follow the establishment in Moscow of an Australian legation. A.I.F. officers now in the Middle East would probably be appointed to the military mission, which would be welcomed in army circles here. Young officers would be sent to study the newest developments in mechanised warfare in the area where it is being prosecuted on the greatest scale. The exchange of Ministers between Australia and the Soviet is regarded in political circles as having great international significance. It is emphasised that the move does not, of course, indicate the Russian abandonment of neutrality with Japan, but it is felt here that the appointments will have an important influence on the Pacific situation generally. Great Common Interest In an interview to-day, Mr. Slater said the exchange of representatives “should have some effect upon the further successful prosecution of the war.” The Australian Minister will leave almost immediately for Moscow. The Australian press generally applauds the Ministerial exchange, which the Sydney Sun to-day says is “an expression of Australia’s deep admiration for the resolution and vigour of a great ally. It acknowledges the great common interest which it is to be hoped will persist long after the Pacific war has ended. Russia’s great eastern maritime domain, stretching from Vladivostok to the Arctic, rich in minerals and in many natural resources, will enjoy vast development once Japanese imperialism has been disposed of. With Russia to the north and China to the south, occupying the whole of the Asian littoral of the Pacific, it does not require much imagination to suggest the vast possibilities of future trade and cultural relations with an Australia strengthened and awakened by two great wars in which she has taken part within a quarter of a century.”