The Press MONDAY, JUNE 4, 1956 Mr Molotov Goes

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27985, 4 June 1956, Page 10

The Press MONDAY, JUNE 4, 1956 Mr Molotov Goes

The resignation of Mr Molotov asl Foreign Minister of the Soviet! Union removes from office the man most closely identified with Russian| foreign policy since 1939. His first! important act after succeeding Mr; [Litvinov was the signing of the Soviet-German non-aggression pact. [During the war he played an important part in Russia’s dealings with its allies, particularly at the historic conferences at Teheran. Yalta, and Potsdam. He headed the Soviet delegation to the San Francisco conference at which the United Nations was founded. At United Nations assemblies and councils his • speeches most clearly exposed the [differences between Russia and the [Western nations, and, when dealing [With such matters as the German, Italian, and Austrian peace treaties, Russia’s obstructionist tactics. As one observer put it, “ by an adamant *’ refusal to compromise a single “ point, he either got what he “ wanted or saw to it that no agree- “ ment of any kind was reached ”, Mr Molotov was replaced as Foreign Minister by Mr Vyshinsky in 1949, and among other explanations of Mr Molotov’s disappearance from the public eye was the suggestion that he was preparing to assume the premiership in the event of Stalin’s death. The death of Stalin did bring Mr Molotov to the fore again, but as one of a triumvirate; Mr Molotov resumed his position as Foreign Minister. In the years immediately after the war Mr Molotov was closely concerned with the defeated Eastern European nations which were German satellites, and nations such as Poland and Jugoslavia, which had been partly under German control during the war. These activities are believed to be partly responsible for Mr Molotov’s resignation. As Foreign Minister, Mr Molotov refused to agree to treaties for the defeated nations, but concluded for Russia a series of trade pacts which integrated the economies of the Soviet and the Eastern European countries. Jugoslavia resisted efforts to force it into the Council of Economic Mutual Assistance, which was formed in 1947. In 1948 Jugoslavia was expelled from the Cominform for taking “an entirely “ wrong line on the principal ques- “ tions of foreign and internal “ policy Since Mr Molotov was the chief agent in Jugoslavia’s expulsion from the Communist bloc, his resignation on the eve of Marshal Tito’s visit to Moscow is being widely interpreted as a placatory gesture to Jugoslavia. It remains to be seen whether this means the end of Mr Molotov as a power in Russian affairs. He apparently retains his office as deputy-Premier and his membership of the presidium. The link between Marshal Tito’s visit and Mr Molotov’s resignation is strengthened in another way. In May, 1955, Mr Shepilov, the man who has replaced Mr Molotov, accompanied Marshal Bulganin and Mr Khrushchev on a mission to

Belgrade, primarily, Mr Khrushchev said at the time, to deal with ideological differences between the parties in the two countries. As a noted theoretician who is reputed to be deeply preoccupied with the ideals of Leninism, Mr Shepilov may seem well equipped to reassure the Jugoslav leaders who, all along, have complained bitterly that Stalin, not they, had deviated from the precepts of Marx and Lenin. Editor-in-chief of the party’s newspaper, “ Pravda ”, since October, 1952, Mr Shepilov has been spoken of as a rising power in the land. In contrast to Mr Molotov, an old Bolshevik who represents the “ yesterday ” of the party, Mr Shepilov represents the “ today ” and “tomorrow”. Only time will

disclose Mr Shepilov’s significance in Russia’s foreign affairs. He may have a decisive influence in the

shaping of policy; or he may prove to be, as Sir Winston Churchill once said of Mr Molotov, merely “the

agent and instrument of an in calculable machine ”.