SOVIET DEMANDS ON LATVIA REPORTED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 142, 17 June 1940, Page 8

SOVIET DEMANDS ON LATVIA REPORTED.

OCCUPATION RIGHT.

Red Army Expected To March To-morrow.

SIMILAR TO LITHUANIA MOVE

United l'ress Association.—Copyright

(Receiver! 2 p.m.) LONDON', June 16. The TCritish United Press Berlin correspondent says that according to reliable Russian and Latvian sources, the Soviet has presented demands to Latvia similar to those accepted by Lithuania.

The Bed Army is expected to march into Latvia to-morrcw.

A message from Kaunas, the capital of Lithuania, says the Prime Minister, M. Merky, and his Cabinet have resigned, following the acceptance of a Soviet ultimatum, in which the Soviet claimed the right to occupy Lithuania and also stipulated a change of Government.

General Pastikis, formerly Coniman-der-in-Chief of the Lithuanian army, is forming a new Ministry.

The President of Lithuania, M. Antanas Smetona, left the country after the entry of the Soviet troops, M. Merky temporarily assuming the Presidency.

The Lithuanian Government has announced that increased Soviet garrisons" are necessary in order to strengthen the security of Eastern Europe.

The German official news agency says the Soviet army crossed the Lithuanian frontier and will occupy Vilna, Kaunas and three other towns.

It is als. i reported from Berlin that 200 Soviet tanks entered Kaunas and that Soviet officials arrived there by

The German news agency states that Germany and Russia signed a treaty at Moscow last Monday arranging methods for the settlement of disputes and border incidents.