TENSION IN BALKANS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 January 1941, Page 9

TENSION IN BALKANS

RUMANIAN DISORDERS i — ; WIDESPREAD SABOTAGE I BY RAILWAYMEN BULGARIAN CO?uMUNISTS LOOKING TO SOVIET. . By Telegraph—Press AssiKkslion—Copyright i I LONDON. January 6. The Gorman army is stated by the Budapest correspondent of the Associated Press to be contending with Rumanian disorders, beginning with wide- j spread sabotage by railwaymen. According to the same corrosjxin- ■ dem, Bulgarian Communists distrib- i tiled leaflets in Sofia staging that j Russia would not allow a single Ger- ! man soldier to set foot in Bulgaria. I Diplomatic dispatches from Buchar- j est state that towns on the Rumanian I bank of the Danube facing Bulgaria j are being prepared for billeting Ger- ! man troops. "The Times" Belgrade correspondent ! says that according to a message from! the leader of the Rumanian mission the I Rumanian-Soviet economic talks have i broken down oocause of the excessive I Impracticability of the Soviet demands.; The Istanbul correspondent of "The! Times" quotes a report from Rumania ; that the work of the Danube Coinmis-! don has almost been reduced to a standstill because of the Soviet dole-1 gallon's persistent claim for exclusive control of the lower Danube. Soviet circles in Bucharest do not conceal their contempt for the antiSoviet propaganda carried on among Rumanian army officers by the Ger- i mans, who talk openly of Rumanian * and German action against the Soviet.! The "Daily Telegraph" enumerates! the latest Soviet precautionary mea- ‘ iis follows:—Firs', the term of, service of non-commissioned officers! and men in the Soviet air force has; been increased from three to four! years; secondly, registration has begun | for the 1911 army class, which will be! called up in the autumn: thirdly, M 1 Timoshenko has ordered the Red Army to cut down its consumption of oil and I petrol. The Ankara correspondent of "The Times' says the Soviet is supplying Greece with wheat and oil contracted for before the war. and has also promised Greece to supply these com-1 modities as she requires them. The I Turks infer that the Soviet desires to * see Italy driven from the Balkans. ’ which suits Turkey. The Turks also! believe that they will receive similar! assistance from the Soviet if Turkey is involved in the war. The Turks are! at least confident that the Soviet is j not disposed to assist Germany against ■ Turkey, which was not true some' months ago. Well-informed quarters in Belgrade (Yugoslavia) predict that Germany! will occupy Bulgaria peacefully, begin-’ ning on January 8. German sources | say that Russia will not intervene. Soviet Ministers in small countries i in south-eastern Europe are now re-! ported t<> be on their way m Moscow to confer with the Soviet Government, j' An Associated Press message from; Budapest says that the Soviet Minis- ! ter to Yugoslavia arrived at the Hungarian capital from Belgrade this ’ j morning and will travel to'Moscow ! with his Budapest colleagues. The As-' tociated Press also says that the Soviet Minister to Rumania is understood to i have conferred with Tokio. Il is thought possible that th,- Bui- ’ garian Prime Minister, who is reportedto be on his way to see Herr von Rib-; bentrop at Salzburg, may also see i Herr Hitler.