Berlin Crisis Remains— MEDIATION MOVE IS FRUITLESS

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 October 1948, Page 7

Berlin Crisis Remains— MEDIATION MOVE IS FRUITLESS

(Reed. 10.35 a.m.) . MIS, October 13. The president of the Security Council, Mr Juan Bramuglia (Argentine) announced that the council will meet on the afternoon of Friday to consider the Berlin question. This followed the delivery by Mr Vyshinsky to Mr Bramuglia of the Kremlin’s reply to the mediation proposals by six small Powers on the Berlin question. It is understood the gist of the Soviet reply is: — 1. Russia wants the Berlin issue dropped from the Security Council agenda. . . . , . 2. Russia is prepared to take up the negotiations at the point where they were left ofl on August 30 when the Western envoys in ' Moscow reached an agreement with Mr Stalin on the directive regard ing Berlin which Marshal Sokolovsky later failed to implement. A British spokesman said the latest Russian reply was unsatisfactory,.

The six small Powers met to consider Russia’s answer after Mr Bramuglia had seen the United French, and British representatives. It was learned after the meeting of small Powers that they would not bring in any resolution at the Security Council meeting on Friday. Mr Bramuglia declared that there would not be any more private meetings of the six members and the case henceforth would be dealt with in open council. Any one of the six “neutral” members in the dispute may bring in their own resolution and the three Western Powers are also expected to prepare their own resolution in case no other is presented. Reuter’s special United Nations correspondent says the virtual collapse of any hope of compromise or mediation in the Berlin dispute comes

after a week of the strangest diplomatic manoeuvres in the Security Council’s history. Mr Bramuglia tried to bring about the lifting of the Berlin blockade and a meeting of the Foreign Ministers’ Council to discuss the whole German problem. The correspondent says that all the negotiations have been carried on in an atmosphere of hush-hush bordering on the melodramatic, with Mr Bramuglia shuttling to and fro between his delegation’s offices and those of the Western Powers and Mr Vyshinsky’s in the Soviet Embassy. The result of the week’s hurrying and scurrying has been nothing. The Security Council now has no • alternative but make a decision. The meeting on Friday will probably be the pensultimate act in the drama which has kept the corridors of Chaillot Place buzzing for a week.