POLAND “DISSOLVED”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 September 1939, Page 7

POLAND “DISSOLVED”

NEW FRONTIER LINES WARSAW AND VISTULA COURSE TO GERMANY. • “SURE BASIS FOR DURABLE PEACE.” By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright LONDON, September 29. The Berlin radio announced that the new frontier defined in the agreement between Germany and the Soviet starts at the southern tip of Lithuania in a general direction westward till it reaches the East Prussian frontier. It then follows the river Pissa southward to Narew and thence south-eastward to Nur, on the river Bug. From Nur it follows the Bug south-eastward to Konstantynow and thence in a general southerly direction to the river San, which it follows to its source. This gives Warsaw and the whole of the Vistula’s course to Germany and also the eastern parts of the counties to Bialystok, Lublin and Lemberg originally assigned to Russia. The text of the communique issued by the official German News Agency after the conclusion of the negotiations between Herr von Ribbentrop and M. Molotov is as follows: — “First, the German and Soviet Governments, having by agreement signed a definite settlement of the questions arising from the dissolution of the Polish State and having thus created a sure basis for durable peace in Eastern Europe, declare that it is their unanimous opinion that it would be in the real interests of all nations to end the state of war existing between Germany on the one hand and Britain and France on the other.

“The two Governments will therefore make a joint effort, in co-opera-tion with other friendly Powers, in order to attain this end as soon as possible. If then efforts do not succeed, the fact will then be proved that Britain and France are responsible for the continuation of the war. If the war should be continued, joint consultations will occur between the German and Soviet Governments on the subject of necessary measures. “The German and Soviet Governments, after the dissolution of the former Polish State, consider it their exclusive task to re-establish peace and order in these territories and assure the nationalities living there a peace-' ful existence according to their particular races.

“They have agreed to the following articles: —

“(1) The German and Soviet Governments fix as the frontier of their imperial interests in the former Polish territory the line marked on the attached map. This line will' be redefined in a complementary protocol. “(2) The two parties recognise as final the frontier of their imperial interests that is fixed in Article one, and they will retuse all interference by a third power in this settlement. “(3) The new political settlement necessary in the territories west of the line fixed in Article one will be established by the German Government and in the territories east of the line by the Soviet Government. “(4) The Soviet and German Governments consider the aforementioned settlement a sure basis to increase the friendly relations of the two peoples. “(5) This agreement will be ratified and documents of ratification exchanged with Berlin as soon as possible.”

sidetracked during the Russo-German talks. Eighty per cent of Poland’s oil wells are now on Russian properly.