MOSCOW ENDS WELL

Evening Star, Issue 25678, 29 December 1945, Page 5

MOSCOW ENDS WELL

Restoring Russian Confidence Unify Again Keynote No Extravagant Hopes Held (N.Z.P.A, Special Correspondent.) (Eec. 11 a.m.) LONDON, Deo. 28. ' The communique on the Moscow Conference has been well received in Britain as proof that the relationships between the big Powers are on the move again and that the deadlock which followed the London conference has at last been broken. At the same time an underlying tone of caution is noticeable so that the description "hopeful" is still applied to the immediate outlook rather than any more extravagant adjective. Indeed, this was the note sounded by Mr Bevin in Moscow after the conference, when he said: " The task of building the peace is very difficult. It needs patience, understanding, and, above all, confidence in each other's integrity. I don't believe in creating in the public mind an impression that one conference has solved all the problems.' If the decisions reached are carried out in a good spirit of understanding they will carry us on to the next stage, to the bigger and more vital problems." The public is well aware that in the past the results of the various conferences have been hailed with a chorus of approbation which subsequently dissolved into doubts and suspicions. While the mood here, then, is one of gratification at the signs of renewed goodwill among the three big Powers, there is more attention being devoted to future actions and the manner in which the policies agreed upon will be carried out. It is commented that without the essential spirit of co-opera-tion the Moscow communique could lend itself to differences of interpretation in the same way as the declarations from Teheran, Yalta, and Potsdam. It is felt, however, that the communique will be an important influence on the General Assembly of the United Nations, which meets in London shortly, and that the knowledge that the three Powers are in agreement will immensely encourage delegates to the Assembly. The Moscow Conference was, and still is, regarded as an attempt to restore Russian confidence, involving concessions to Russia, the most important of which is the continuation of the Big Three policy as a guarantee that Russia will never again be isolated by any group or alliance of Powers.