THE LITTLE ENTENTE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 15, 15 December 1937, Page 8

THE LITTLE ENTENTE.

A cardinal feature of France’s foreign policy is to maintain the strongest friendship with the countries of the Little Entente Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Rumania which have signed a statute not to have a foreign policy conflicting one with the other. The visit of M. Delbos, the French Foreign Minister, to the capitals of these States is indicative of the regard held for France. In Belgrade itself there were scenes of the wildest enthusiasm when he arrived, and the report from Bucharest of identity of views is no doubt held in the other capitals. For France it is vital to maintain an alliance which will act as a buffer between herself and Germany and also Italy. Lately Yugoslavia has signed a treaty of friendship with Italy which has been regarded with suspicion by a section of French opinion, though this is held to be justified neither by its history nor its contents. M. Laval, after the conclusion of the Rome Pact, first suggested an Italo-Yugoslav Pact to Belgrade, and though, a commentator says, its conclusion last March couid not have been very welcome to M. Blum’s Ministry, the Yugoslav Government cannot be fairly criticised for having seized upon a favourable opportunity of concluding _ a treaty which might otherwise have eluded its grasp. For years there had been serious friction between the two countries, but the treaty gives an impetus to trade between them—a matter of prime importance—and a guarantee that the Yugoslav minorities in Italy will be allowed to use their mother tongiie. It is this document that has inspired the Prime Minister (M. Stoyadinovitch) to declare that the “world can no longer count on disagreement between Italy and Yugoslavia, who have begun to write a new page in their relationships.” Moreover the Little Entente are improving their relations with Hungary, and this better understanding is a factor of the greatest importance in maintaining peace in an unsettled region of Europe, where the divisions of the peace treaties have been the cause of bitter rancour. M. Stoyadinovitch has pursued a policy of amelioration that • must have most beneficial results. Better relations with the Croats and a political alliance with the Moslems of Bosnia and the Slovenes have been an integral part of his internal 'policy to remove problems which disrupt the national wellbeing. His Government has passed important social legislation and, says the commentator mentioned, the drastic dictatorship of his predecessors has been greatly mitigated since he took office, and the peasantry are becoming prosperous again. The Croats still have their grievances which they ventilate in Paris, but the fruits of the Government’s policy are becoming apparent. Thu Little Entente plays a most important part in European peace, and the renewal of the treaty with France, and the obvious desire of Jugoslavia to keep peace with Italy and Hungary and at the same time promote internal wellbeing, are features of a policy that could be copied by other nations with profit.