The Evening Star THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 1941. NAZI-SOVIET MYSTERY.

Evening Star, Issue 23915, 19 June 1941, Page 8

The Evening Star THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 1941. NAZI-SOVIET MYSTERY.

Whatever Germany's action in the near future may be (and nobody can yet predict precisely what course it will take), it is most unlikely to bring about a change in Soviet Russia’s desire to maintain strict neutrality. Russia’s big problem, however, is that her desires may no .longer be considered. She appears to be on the verge of toppling off that pedestal of power and inviolability upon which her friends chose to place her in the first year or so of the European War, Recent cables have offered the suggestion that, although the Red army and probably the other fighting forces appear willing to resist Nazi aggression in all its forms, Dictator Stalin has other ideas on what constitutes a fit and proper foreign policy to meet the needs of tho Soviets. If there is any truth in the assumption that important influences in Russia are pulling in different directions, the diplomatic soil is in a very fertile condition for growth of the seeds of Nazi pressure. The heightening of tension in the Baltic regions momentarily distracted attention from the Middle East, but if confirmation is forthcoming of to-day’s news from Berlin that a pact of friendship has been signed between Germany and Turkey, the major scene of land action may still bo the south-east, with Germany following up the strategic advantage obtained in parleys with a demand for tho passage of her troops through Turkey towards Syria, Iraq, and Palestine.

Of tho three main courses open to Germany—.an attack on Russia, an attempted invasion of Britain, and acceleration of the Middle East offensive—the Middle East offers the most fruitful opportunities. Hitler, with his Italian allies, has managed to transport a large mechanised army on to the Egyptian frontier, and the diplomatic victory over Turkey now enables him to strengthen the northern prong of his pincers drive on tho Suez Canal. His suspected sabre-rattling at Russia could well mean nothing more than a demand on her to keep out of trouble altogether or to make economic concessions helpful to future Nazi activities in the areas surrounding the Mediterranean. It must be remembered that the Germans have relied for their success on concentration on one particular undertaking at a time. It therefore seems improbable that pressure on tho British and Imperial forces in tho Middle East will be relaxed in favour either of a direct assault on Russia or of a move across the North Sea against Britain. Tho reported massing of German troops along the Russian frontier in Rumania, and any similar movements in the north, may mean only the addition of a defensive safeguard to pressure tactics aimed at producing economic concessions. Tho Russians themselves, it has been stated, think the fundamental factor in tho military situation is tho probabilities and possibilities of a Gorman invasion of Britain. If the attempt is not made,

or is made with So little success as to

bo abandoned speedily, they believe that the world may see a repetition of the history of Napoleon. On these grounds it is in the Soviet Union’s interests to let Britain take the full initial impact of the Nazi series of blitzkrieg aggressions. The greatest danger facing the British Empire at the moment is that Russia, if unmolested, will do nothing to prevent the Nazis swarming through Turkey en route to the long Allied front between the Mosul oilfields and Egypt.