The Dominion. MONDAY, JULY 3, 1939. THE COALITION AGAINST AGGRESSION

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 235, 3 July 1939, Page 8

The Dominion. MONDAY, JULY 3, 1939. THE COALITION AGAINST AGGRESSION

It is becoming increasingly evident that the negotiations between Britain and Russia are in difficult waters. An article in the ofncia Soviet journal Pravda, which, under instructions by the Government, has been broadcast throughout the Russian provincial Press, makes it at least clear that the Soviet authorities are inclined to suspect that Britain and France want an agreement under which, to quote the writer, “Russia will play the role of a hired man carrying on his shoulders the entire burden of the engagement. No self-respecting country,” he adds, “would accept such an agreement if it does not want to be a plaything in the hands of people who want someone to pull their chestnuts out of the fire.” Such a suggestion, of course, would be immediately lepudiateci by Britain and France as being not only opposed to the facts, but as a'reflection also on -their integrity and honesty of motive. It is unfortunate, however, that an impression of the kind seems to have invaded the Russian mind. It can only be supposed that this misunderstanding has arisen from the fog of mystery and secrecy which has enveloped the negotiations, and the colour given to the suggestion that there has been too much argument and bargaining on minor points and not enough concentration on the. main issue.. In the Pravda article the “extreme clarity” of Russia’s position is emphasized. She insists, apparently, on an agreement “based on equality and reciprocity.” This seems simple enough. But the background of her attitude is less clear. Mr. Walter Duranty, the well-known correspondent on European affairs, supplies some enlightenment on this point from impressions gained from a tour of the Eastern European countries. The original Russian proposal, he says, was for a hard-and-fast agreement between the three Powers on terms of . strict equality—as phrased by the Russians, “complete mutuality”—and backed by a joint military convention for a defensive alliance. Behind this proposal were two ideas. The first was “collective security. The three contracting parties were to bind themselves to support each other by all means at their disposal if any one of them, or their possessions, were attacked in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. The Far East was excepted, as Russia did not wish to become involved in any conflict which might arise between Britain and France on the one hand, and Japan on the other, through a Japanese attempt to abrogate violently the extra-territorial privileges enjoyed by the two Western Powers in China. The second is rather significant:

Such an alliance (he said) would once and for all demonstrate the right of the U.S.S.R. to be considered a Great Power on full equality of standing with France and Britain, and thus salve the wounds inflicted by the cavalier treatment of the U.S.S.R. at Munich and during the “crisis” of last September. Indeed, the - Kremlin feeling that M. Litvinov had not been sufficiently attentive to the prestige of the U.S.S.R. during the conversations with Sir William Seeds in Moscow, was one of the contributory causes of his downfall.

This reading of the situation helps to explain the obvious feeling behind the Pravda article. Russia appears to be rather sensitive about her prestige as a great Power, and perhaps over-inclined, in consequence, to suspect that she is being used simply a$ a convenience. It also explains in part the difficulty apparently experienced by the British and French diplomatic representatives in getting the Russian Government to appreciate their point of view. It is unfortunate that the position seems to have drifted away from the main issue. Without Russia, the common front against aggression might seem hardly strong enough to act as a deterrent to Germany and Italy simply through the moral effect of the forces likely to be arrayed against them, Russia is the keystone of the arch. Britain has now a military alliance with France and mutual assistance agreements with Poland and Turkey. Britain and France together have guaranteed Greece and Rumania without, however, receiving reciprocal guarantees in return. France has previous mutual assistance pacts with Poland and Soviet Russia, while Russia is bound to Turkey by treaties of friendship and non-aggression, and Turkey to Greece. France has completed her negotiations with 'Turkey, which were chiefly concerned with the problem of Alexandretta. When Britain and Russia at last succeed in breaking through the tangle of misunderstanding and suspicion which still divides them, there will have been constructed a well-knit league of nations ready and able to halt the advance of aggression.