SCANDINAVIAN DEFENCE

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25713, 27 January 1949, Page 5

SCANDINAVIAN DEFENCE

“FAILURE” IN TALKS AT COPENHAGEN SWEDISH VERSION OF NEGOTIATIONS STOCKHOLM. Jan. 25. In spite of yesterday's placatory cpmmunique, reliable Swedish Parliamentary observers think that the Scandinavian defence conference in Copenhagen was a failure. The reason was that the Swedes and Norwegians could not agree on the terms of approach by the three nations to the United States and Britain.

According to these sources, the Norwegians insisted that the Nordic countries should ask Britain and America for: (1) The right to buy British and American arms in peace time. (2) British and American military aid if any of the three should be attacked.

(3) Collaboration between Scandinavia and the prospective North Atlantic Pact signatories without the establishment in Scandinavia of peace-time bases by those nations. The Swedes, on the other hand, emphasised their readiness to declare war on any country which attacked Norway or Denmark, but said that they would not ask the United States or Britain for guarantees linking Scandinavia with any group of Great Powers. For this reason they wanted to ask Britain and America only for the right to make peace-time weapon purchases from them. The Stockholm radio said to-dav that the optimism reflected in Copenhagen newspapers on the talks had to-day turned to a marked feeling of pessimism, nor did Stockholm newspapers view the position in any too favourable a light. The Norwegian Foreign Minister (Dr. Halvar Lange) said in a broadcast to-day thit the defence talks were not intended to come to any definite decisions. Agreement was reached on many points, but there v/ere considerable differences of opinion on the conditions for and the consequences of a possible Scandinavian defence union.