PERSIAN SITUATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 January 1921, Page 5

PERSIAN SITUATION.

AGREEMENT WITH SOVIET FAVORED. By Telegraph.—Press Assn. —Copyright. London, Jan. 18. Persian advices show that the situation is precarious. Having failed to ratify the Anglo-Persian agreement, which would have enabled Persia to straighten out its affairs, Persians think that the best alternative is an agreement with Soviet Russia. Although the agreement has not yet been signed, it practically hands over Persia to the Soviet, which has, under its terms to invade Persia whenever it pleases the Soviet to regard, the country as threatened. i Persians realise that are not getting anything out of the Soviet, but, owing to apprehensions regarding the future, they want to keep on good, terms with Moscow. The British evacuation of North Persia will begin shortly. There cannot be any question of allowing Bolshevik interference in South Persia, owing to its proximity to British territory.

[By the Anglo-Russian Convention of August, 1907. Great Britain and Russia mutually engaged to respect the integrity and independence of Persia, while marking out certain regions in south-east and north-west Persia respectively in which each had, for geographical and economic reasons, special interests. On August 9, 1919, this agreement was superseded by a treaty between Great Britain and Persia, by which Great Britain agrees to respect the integrity of Persia and to provide a loan of £2,000,000 ij return for the security of diplomatic and commercial relations between the two countries, and for the purpose of establishing order and developing the resources of the State.]