GERMAN PEACE TREATY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26635, 4 December 1947, Page 5

GERMAN PEACE TREATY

CONFERENCE REPRESENTATION FOREIGN MINISTERS’ VIEWS DIVIDED Rec. 8 p.m. LONDON, Dec. 2. Mr Molotov accepted the amended United States proposal that the Council of Foreign Ministers draw up the final German peace treaty but take into consideration the recommendations of the peace’conference whether they had been passed by a two-thirds majority or by a simple majority. M. Bidault accepted the projSisal subject to agreement on membership of the peace conference—a matter on which Ministers are widely divided. The United States originally suggested that a two-thirds majority should have special weight with the council. •

The Foreign Ministers’ deputies have completed their report on the Austrian treaty for presentation to the Big Four .without agreeing on contentious clauses, says Reuter’s diplomatic correspondent. The deputies discussed a French proposal to overcome the most difficult problem—disposal of former German assets in Aus tria.

The French suggested that Russia should be paid 100,000,000 dollars anc should have claims in the production of former German industries. Britain and the United States accepted the idea, but Russia rejected it on the ground that it did not accord with the Potsdam agreement. The military clauses and Yugoslavia’s frontiei claims also remain unagreed. The Foreign Ministers failed to agree and referred to the deputies the composition of four committees which will draft the German peace treaty. Mi Bevin and Mr Marshall said that the smaller Allies should have a’right to attend the committees and not attend merely by Big Four invitation. Mr Marshall, defending Canada's claim. said that Canada had 1,000,000 men under arms in the war. Canada to-day was the third world naval Power and the fourth world air Power. . Mr Molotov dropped the Soviet proposal that the committees should consist only of the Big Four in favour of the French proposals, which left with the Big Four the right to invite smallei Allies. Mr Bevin said that under the French plan some Allies would be excluded from committee membership »i want to exclude nobody,’-, he said