RUSSIA AND THE WEST

Evening Star, Issue 26011, 28 January 1947, Page 5

RUSSIA AND THE WEST

WHY MORE CONCILIATORY? FEARS FAMINE AND NEEDS HELP SOVIET'S CURIOUS DIPLOMACY (From E. G. Webber, N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent.) (Rec. 11.55 a.m.) LONDON, Jan. 27. Amid conjectures as to the next step the British Government * will Lake in reconsidering the present treaty of alliance with' Russia, the suggestion is made by the special Russian correspondent of the ‘ Observer ’ that Russia’s more conciliatory attitude towards the West is closely connected with fears of another serious famine in Moldavia, Ukraine, and the whole of the “ black earth ” zone which before the war supplied two-thirds of the grain for the U.S.S.R. This suggestion is based on facts revealed in the annual report of the Soviet State Planning Commission, which is just released. This report discloses for the first % time that . the drought in European'Russia last year was the severest for the past 50 years, and that it affected a larger area than the drought of 1921, which plunged much of the country into famine, and compelled Lenin to appeal for help to a hostile world. The Planning Commission emphasises that the total grain production in 1946 was “ incomparably ” greater than in 1921, due to Communist organisation of production, but it does not give the total..figure of grain deliveries, nor does it claim that conditions were better than in 1921. It is known that large supplies of extra grain are being obtained from Eastern Russia and Soviet Asia for the relief, of the. drought-stricken areas, but it remains to be seen whether these supplies are adequate to stave off. the disaster which has periodically afflicted the Russian peasantry in years of. drought. , The f Observer’s ’ correspondent says Russia’s fear of impending famine'' and realisation that she may again have to look for outside aid are maybe some of the reasons why her leaders are endeavouring to prepare the Russian people for a new attitude towards the Western Powers. In London, Stalin’s statement that Russia is not prepared to extend the present Anglo-Soviet treaty unless it is first freed from the “ reservations ” is regarded as an indirect invitation to discuss revision of the agreement. ‘ PRAVDA ’ ARTICLE’S INTENTION. It is not disguised that the British Foreign Office was disconcerted by the Russian method of raising the matter in ‘Pravda,’ and there, is no doubt that the suggestion will be made that, in future, relations between the two countries be negotiated through, more normal channels.. It is now considered evident, that the ‘ Pravda ’ articles were not just another incident in the favourite Russian newspaper .pastime of baiting the British and Americans, but that- they were a deliberate move in a carefully considered diplomatic manoeuvre. One of the current problems how long the Russian Press and radio polemics against British and American policies will be tolerated without an open remonstrance. Although they have diminished in tempo, they are still continuing. The Americans are endeavouring to bring the matter to a head by specifically charging the Russians with “ large-scale misrepresentations ” in their European propaganda. This charge was made last week by officials of the American State Department and broadcast over the European network. It is probable that the real gauge of Russian desire for better relations with Britain and America can be'seen in the rise and fall of the present highly critical and often actively bostil Soviet radio 5 and Press campaigns The next step is almost certain to be a (British request for amplification of Stalin’s statement, with special reference to the “ reservations ” which the Soviet desires. removed. In this connection it is pointed out that the Russian treaties of alliance with France, Yugoslavia, Czecho-Slovakia, and Poland, concluded subsequent to the treaty with Britain, all go further than the British pact in guaranteeing immediate efforts to prevent' any resurgence of German military power. The present Anglo-Soviet alliance is entirely defensive —that is to say, no obligation is imposed on either party until one or the other is attacked. The RussoPolish pact, on the other hand, pledges both parties to take immediate joint measures “to eliminate any threat on the part of Germany or of any other State which might unite with Germany.”