MENACING ATTITUDE ADOPTED BY THE SOVIET TOWARDS FINLAND

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 November 1939, Page 5

MENACING ATTITUDE

ADOPTED BY THE SOVIET TOWARDS FINLAND

ML Erkko’s Speech Described as War Threat

ALL PARTIES LOOKING TO SWEDEN

RESOURCES OF SCANDINAVIAN BLOC

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.— Copyright.)

According to a Daventry message, the Moscow radio has adopted a menacing attitude toward Finland. The speech on Thursday by the Finnish Foreign Minister, M. Erkko, who warned the population that they must be ready to throw into the scale all they had, is attacked and describee as a threat of war against the Soviet Union. The station also criticises comment in Finnish newspapers as hostile. „ The Moscow correspondent of the “New York Times, Mr G. E. R. Gedye, says that apparently Finland is now willing to cede Borland and other islands off Kronstadt (the Soviet naval base near Leningrad) and also territory in the extreme north of Finland, but she will fight rather than lease, llanko as a Soviet base. Despite M. Molotov’s threats, the Finns seem to believe that the Soviet recognises the concessions as being generous and will conclude a peaceful agreement. Everyone is looking toward Sweden, the correspondent continues. ft is felt that a definite decision by Sweden to maintain in all circumstances the solidarity ol the Scandinavian bloc would stabilise the situation and avert the possibility ot a conflict. Without Denmark the Scandinavians could mobilise a million men. . . Germany is adroitly exploiting the situation and blackmailing the Scandinavians into supporting a campaign against the British blockade, but it is hardly likely that the Scandinavians will be impressed by Germany’s ability to restrain Russia. There was no meeting between the Soviet and Finnish delegations yesterday. Instead, the Finnish delegates were given seats at the meeting of the Supreme Council, at which the annexation of the White Russian portion of Poland was approved.