PEACE TREATY FOR ITALY

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24870, 9 May 1946, Page 5

PEACE TREATY FOR ITALY

TRIESTE HELD TO BE KEYNOTE RUSSIAN ATTITUDE DISCUSSED (Special Correspondent N.Z.PA.) (Rec. 10 pjn.) LONDON, May 7. The tone of the British and American press continues to be markedly pessimistic concerning the prospects of an agreement on the Italian peace treaty. American circles consider Trieste to be the keynote of the whole Italian problem, and declare that the Americans are not prepared to yield to the Russian demand for the handing over of Trieste to Jugoslavia The surrender of Trieste to the Jugoslavs, the Americans claim, would >e contrary to the spirit of the Atlantic Charter, as well as to the decisions reached at the London conference of Foreign Ministers. The Americans insist that the only solution is for the Russians to abandon their stand on Trieste and meet the British, American, and French points of view. Discussing the Paris negotiations the diplomatic correspondent of the “New York Times” expresses the view that Russian intransigence will increase British and American co-operation. “It is clear that the difficulties will not be resolved without a change of policy or a sudden increase in the spirit of conciliation. There has been tittle of either. “It is all the more regrettable that no progress has been made, because it is unlikely that Britain, the United States, and France will be able to alter substantially the terms of the Balkan armistices or the terms proposed by Russia for the Balkan peace treaties.” Mr Bevin throughout the discussions strongly opposed any suggestion of bargaining and using the peoples of Trieste and the Julian March as counters. He considered that the British and American proposals for the disposal of Italian colonies could be reconciled. There is no disposition among the French delegation to give weight to Mr Molotov’s arguments in favour of handing over the Julian March to Jugoslavia. The French support the Russian proposal to give Italy a leading voice in the administration of her one-time colonies. “The Times” describes the breakdown of the negotiations on the Italian treaty as “disquieting,” and says that the only comforting aspect is that the matter has not been dropped for good.