PEACE IN EUROPE

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 256, 25 July 1936, Page 9

PEACE IN EUROPE

Three-Power Talks In

London WARM COLLABORATION Germany and Italy to be Invited to Meeting (British Official Wireless.) Rugby, July 23. The conversations between the Belgian, French and British delegations, which lasted for two hours this morning, were resumed at 10 Downing Street this afternoon, when the French Premier, M. Blum, who arrived by air during the forenoon, assumed the leadership of the French delegation. The afternoon meeting lusted lotover two hours, and in British circles the warmest tributes are paid to the spirit of sincere collaboration in which the French and Belgian Ministers met their British colleagues and joined whole-heartedly in the new- attempt to reach with the free collaboration of all an enduring European settlement. At the end of to-day’s meeting the following communique was issued: — “The representatives of France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom, mindful of the arrangement of March 19, of the proposals of the German Chancellor of Marcli 31, and of those of the French Government of April 8, have arrived at the following conclusions:— “1. The main purpose to which the efforts of all European nations must be directed is to consolidate peace by means of a general settlement. “2. Such a settlement can only be achieved by free co-opczation of all the Powers concerned, and nothing would be more fatal to the hopes of such a settlement than division, apparent or real, of Europe into opposing blocs.

"3. The three Governments accordingly consider that steps should be taken to arrange a meeting of the five Locarno Powers as soon as such a meeting can conveniently be held. The first business to be undertaken should in their opinion be to negotiate a new agreement to take the place of the Rhine Pact of Locarno, and to resolve, through the collaboration of ail concerned, the situation created by the German initiative of March 7. “4. The three Governments accordingly propose to enter into communication with the German and Italian Governments with a view to obtaining their participation in the meeting thus proposed. "5. If progress can be made at this meeting other matters affecting European peace will necessarily come under discussion. In such circumstances it would be natural to look forward to widening of the area of discussion in such a manner as to facilitate, with the collaboration of other interested Powers, a settlement of those problems a solution of which is essential to the peace of Europe.” Before the delegates dispersed arrangements were made for the communication by their diplomatic representatives in Berlin and Rome to the German and Italian Governments of their conclusions, together witli an expression of the hope that those Governments would accept the invitation to a Five-Power meeting.