Ministers’ Deputies Meet In London

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25084, 16 January 1947, Page 7

Ministers’ Deputies Meet In London

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

(Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, Jan. 14. New views from Moscow which are part of a prepared Russian plan for the draft peace treaty between the war-time Allies and Germany are expected to be placed before the Big Four Foreign Ministers’ deputies, who met in London to-day to prepare the ground for the Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Berlin on March 10. One of the most controversial questions is how long the occupation troops will remain in Germany after the signing of the treaty. Holland has sent the Foreign Ministers’ deputies a plan for a federation of German States stripped of warmaking potential, but permitting a reasonable degree of economic recovery. It is suggested that the military occupation should eventually be restricted to a number of strategic areas enabling zonal boundaries to be abolished and the occupying armies to be converted gradually into a police force. A constitution should be formulated guaranteeing that power could not be centralised. The manufacture of armaments should be banned and Germany forbidden to use aggressive economic measures, including protective tariffs, dumping, and export premiums. Britain’s Foreign Minister (Mr Bevin), welcoming the deputies at Lancaster House, said that they must prevent Germany ever again threatening the peace of Europe. Everything must be done to prevent a resurgence of military power. That was why the foreign Ministers had devised the plan for the deputies to hear every view on the subject. Mr Bevin, turning to Austria, said that the Allies realised that one of the foundations of European peace was to get the Danubian Basin working soundly, economically, and politically. He hoped- that an Austrian treaty would be evolved before the meeting of the Foreign Ministers in Moscow, which would not handicap Austria economically in relation to other Powers and which would enable her to play her part as the meeting place of East and West. Mr Bevin hoped that the deputies would not devote too much time to

procedure. He said that the present stage was only the beginning, not the end. He added that perhaps the peace treaties with the satellite countries could have been more quickly achieved if there had been greater preparation. They were all agreed that the preparatory work this time should be effective and should produce* a plan which would ensure world peace for hundreds of years. All the deliberations of the deputies will be secret. A large body of polio* guarded Lancaster House to-day. The deputies met in the room overlooking Green Park, which was used by the Big Four deputies for the talks on the five satellites’ peace treaties. v A spokesman said that the deputies had decided to begin the discussions on Germany to-morrow and on Austria the following day. They had elected Sir William Strang chairman for this week. The chairmanship will be held next week by Russia, and in the next two weeks by the United States and France. The sole task of the Foreign Ministers’ deputies on the German peace treaty is to consider questions of procedure on its presentation. Apart from listing the views of the 18 Allied belligerents or States bordering Germany—six of which are making territorial claims against her—they must recommend the manner in which the other Allies should be associated with the treaties and the manner of formal acceptance by Austria and by Germany, which is at present without a responsible government capable of signing a treaty. One of the American members of the Deputies’ Council (Mr Robert Murphy) suggested in Berlin last week that a “statutory peace” should be imposed on Germany by inter-allied decrees, instead of a peace treatysigned by a German Government. This would create a stable framework for Germany fairly soon without waiting for the formation of a German Government. The deputies will engage immediately in drafting the Austrian treaty. All work must be submitted to the Foreign Ministers by February 25 in preparation for the Moscow Conference on March 10.