Uniting Against Bonn

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31321, 17 March 1967, Page 11

Uniting Against Bonn

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) MOSCOW, Mar. 16. Eastern Europe appeared today to be presenting an almost completely united front against West Germany’s diplomatic drive for friends in the Communist world. With the apparent falling in line by Bulgaria—the Communist Party secretary, Mr Todor Zhivkov, had talks in Moscow this week with the Soviet party leader, Mr Leonid Brezhnev—Rumania is left as an odd man out, having already agreed on an exchange of ambassadors with Bonn.

West Germany’s attempted opening to the East, launched by the new coalition Government in Bonn, is viewed with extreme suspicion by East Germany, Poland and the Soviet Union. Strong Attack On the eve of Bonn’s agreement with Bucharest, the Kremlin issued a strong attack on alleged neo-Nazism in West Germany in an apparent move to forestall any similar step by other East European countries. Czechoslovakia. Hungary and Bulgaria were all reported to be ready in varying degrees to follow Rumania, which had its

move violently attacked by the East German press. But after a meeting of East European Foreign Ministers in Warsaw and an almost unprecedented series of bilateral talks between Warsaw Pact party chiefs, the Soviet Union, East Germany and Poland seem to have swung opinion behind them. Communiques issued after brief visits here by both Hungarian party chief, Mr Janos Kadar, and Mr Zhivkov have said the sides reached full agreement on international problems; a clear indication of Hungarian and Bulgarian rallying to the Soviet line on Germany. Czechoslovakia, the attitude of which to West Germany was from the first closer to that of Poland, signified soon after the Rumanian move caused a row in the Commun-

ist camp that it would go along with its northern neighbours. Today, the East German leader, Mr Walter Ulbricht, was due in Prague to sign a treaty of friendship between his country and Czechoslovakia. Yesterday he signed a similar treaty with Poland in Warsaw. In this treaty, Poland pledged its support for the present division of Germany and other existing European frontiers. Later this month, Mr Brezhnev is expected to go to Bulgaria to lenew the 20-year Soviet-Bulgarian friendship treaty which runs out next year. But his visit is not now expected to have any special bearing on the German question.

As a result of the joint East Berlin-Warsaw-Moscow efforts, the East European States are now likely to impose stiff conditions for recog nising Bonn. Among these are expected to be at least a token recognition by Bonn of East Germany and the permanence of the Oder-Neisse frontier between Poland and Eastern Germany.