NO PROGRESS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 November 1939, Page 7

NO PROGRESS

IN THE SOVIET-FINNISH NEGOTIATIONS POSITION RATHER VAGUELY DEFINED. RESISTANCE TO DEMANDS. 3y Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. NEW YORK. November 11. For the third time within a month .the Finnish delegation has advised Cabinet of a deadlock in the negotiations with Moscow, reports the “New York Times” Helsinki correspondent. Mr A. Marcus Toilet. The hitch is regretted because it was expected that the Finnish counter-pro-posals submitted yesterday would afford firm ground for progress and give evidence of Finland's willingness to meet the Soviet demands as far as possible. 1 It is conjectured that the Russians are insisting on a naval base at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland, probably at Hanko. Well-informed quarters are convinced that neither Cabinet nor Parliament will be willing tc lease territory in this vicinity, which is vital to Finland's independence. The . talks may also have broken down over the Soviet demand for frontier revision, the Finns being loath to surrender fortifications on which they have spent large sums, exposing themselves to the same fate as Czechoslovakia after the surrender of the fortified Sudetenland. If Russia, therefore, persists bn this point, a settlement is unlikely. The belief is gaining ground that the Soviet is conducting a war on nerves designed to exhaust the Finns' patience and also their limited finances. Military preparations are costing tens of millions of marks daily and the evacuation of the cities and dislocation of industries have put a strain on Fin land's economy. A speedy agreement therefore, is earnestly hoped for in Helsinki. According to the Moscow correspondent of the “New York Times." Mr G E. R. Gedye. a further meeting of the delegates is possible tomorrow. The atmosphere has been more cordial since the Finnish Finance Minister, M Tanner, and M Stalin started discussing old times. M Stalin, when a refugee aged 26. was hunted by the Czarist police and fled to Finland where he was sheltered and helped by M Tanner. Clearly the Soviet does not intend invasion whatever happens, but equally Finland will be eventually exhausted if the Soviet continues the present tension indefinitely. Doubtless the realisation that invasion is not intended has stiffened the Finnish attitude, while the Soviet is encouraged by the knowledge that Sweden and the other backers are urging Finland to settle on the best possible terms, though a real threat tc Finland's independence would probably provoke Sweden and Norway's full support for Finland. The British United Press correspondent in Moscow says the official news agency declares that the Finns not only refuse the Kremlin's minimum 1 proposals for expansion in the Baltic but intensify their irreconcilability. The agency adds that the increase of Finnish divisions on the Karelian isthmus from three to seven exemplifies this. LIMIT IN CONCESSIONS FINLAND REFUSES TO GO FURTHER. HELSINKI. November 12. The Finnish Foreign Minister. M. Erkko. declared that Finland had gone the limit in concessions. She had made extensive concessions in the interests of Soviet security, particularly on the Karelian frontier. The troops sent there were for purely precautionary purposes, necessitated by the nature of the Soviet demands. Daventry reports an announcement from Finland that negotiations with Russia had reached a deadlock. Fin-| land, it is stated, has come to the limit of concession. Unless there was an improvement in the outlook the Finnish delegates would be recalled. That did not mean that diplomatic relations would be broken off.