BALKAN ISSUES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 April 1940, Page 5

BALKAN ISSUES

DISCUSSION IN LONDON ENVOYS AND EXPERTS MEETING AT FOREIGN OFFICE. STATEMENT OF BRITISH AIMS. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, April G. It is expected that the British Ambassador at Ankara and the British Ministers at Athens, Belgrade, Bucharest, Sofia, and Budapest will all have arrived at London by Monday when consultations with experts of the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Economic Warfare, and the Board of Trade will begin. Mr Chamberlain explained the object of these consultations in the House of Commons last Tuesday. "We have heard recently of possible developments in south-eastern Europe,” he said. “It is even suggested by German propaganda that it is our aim to disturb the peace of the Balkans. This is, of course, untrue, and we are confident that our agreements with Turkey have on the contrary, contributed most effectively to maintain peace and security in south-eastern Europe.” Mr Chamberlain expressed the conviction that this initiative would have fruitful results, both for the Allied cause and for the maintenance of peace and security in that area.

Lord Halifax will hold a conference at the Foreign Office tomorrow with British envoys from Central Europe, a Daventry message states. Twenty ambassadors will attend the meeting, including those in Italy, Russia and Turkey, and British Ministers in Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Rumania and .Yugoslavia. The general situation in south-eastern Europe will be discussed. Later meetings will include one with the Minister of Economic Warfare.

GERMAN HOPES DIFFICULT FOR BRITAIN TO CATCH UP. BERLIN, April 6. The Wilhelmstrasse has telegraphed to Herr Darre, German Minister of Agriculture at present in Budapest to speed up negotiations with Yugoslavia. Italy and Hungary. The Government stated: “Britain will not find it easy to catch up with us. Any country modifying its trade policy toward the Reich will be unneutral.” Nevertheless, spontaneous anger is rising in Yugoslavia, that country being dangerously depleted of its meat supplies because of abnormal exports to Germany.