BALKAN TANGLE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 March 1942, Page 4

BALKAN TANGLE

TURKEY KEENLY ALERT AXIS PRESSURE ON BULGARIA. DISPUTE BETWEEN HUNGARY & RUMANIA. (By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright) LONDON, March 23. Turkey is keenly watching developments in the situation concerning Bulgaria, Rumania and Hungary, which are equally unsatisfactory from the Axis viewpoint. The Istanbul correspondent of “The Times” says the Bulgarian Cabinet, after an obscure semi-official warning from Berlin, held a four-hour sitting, at which it is believed that the majority of Ministers favoured a temporising policy concerning active participation by Bulgaria in the war against Russia. M. Kiroff, Bulgarian # Minister in Turkey, will go to Sofia from Ankara shortly and it is understood Bulgarian diplomatic representatives in Berlin, Rome, Budapest and Bucharest have received similar invitations. These were probably sent after the Cabinet meeting so that the whole situation could be reviewed before momentous decisions, necessitated by strong German pressure, are taken. In the meantime it is significant that a Bulgarian paper has chosen the present moment to recall an interview Hitler had in 1939 with the then Bulgarian Prime Minister in which Hitler was reported as saying that he wished only for peace and quietness in the Balkans, which would be more appreciated than any military assistance Bulgaria might give. What interests Turkey particularly is the fact that, besides the Bulgarian people's alleged Russophile feeling, the Bulgarian Government is using the danger of an eventual Turkish attack against Bulgaria as a pretext for refusing to send troops to the Russian front.

There is a feeling that the German Minister, Herr von Papen’s, hurried departure on March 21 to Bulgaria, whence he will go straight to Hitler’s headquarters, is due to an urgent summons to report the truth about the alleged Bulgarian fears of Turkey. It is considered probable that a German inquiry about the Turkish attitude toward Bulgaria will be made in Ankara after- Von Papen's consultations. There is no doubt about the Turkish answer should such an inquiry be made. It would be that Turkey’s policy remains one of peace and neutrality and that Bulgaria has nothing to fear from Turkey. “The Times” correspondent on the German frontier says that there is chagrin in Berlin that the long-smoul-dering enmity between the Rumanian and Hungarian peoples should have burst into flames when preparations for the spring offensive against Russia demand unity among all participators. Rumania has claimed Italy’s support while Hungary has cited Germany as her second. Berlin must find a quick solution to minimise the risk of armed conflict between the two States. The tactics adopted are to play on the fear of a Soviet victory and the loss of all the territories won by the sacrifices of war. Berlin, however, is uneasy at the Hungarian Prime Minister’s statement that Hungary’s participation on the side of the Axis must not be allowed to diminish her home defences because it shows both Rumania and Hungary are using the threat from their neighbour for withholding full aid from the Axis.