MOVE FOR PEACE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 85, 8 March 1940, Page 7

MOVE FOR PEACE

PRESSURE ON FINNS. DIPLOMATIC CONTACTS. SWEDEN’S ALOOFNESS. (United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) Received March 8, 9.35 a.m. ROME, March 7. Strong diplomatic forces are at work in Helsinki and Stockholm, according to the special correspondent of the News Agency on the SwedisliFinnisli frontier. The Finns on the one hand are being urged to conclude an honourable peace after mediation and, on the other hand, they are pressed to continue the struggle with the prospect of foreign intervention on a vast scale. . It can be stated that, while the struggle between London and Berlin continues. Sweden is determined not to become embroiled in the European war despite all efforts to persuade her otherwise. London reports state that peace moves in the Russinn-Finnish war are again circulating widely. The Associated Press Stockholm correspondent says it is reliably stated that Sweden is seeking a Russian-Finnish armistice. , . , It is also confirmed that Russia s peace demands were recently presented to Finland. Another Stockholm message says Germany is taking the initiative in the peace talks. Official Swedish sources refuse to ■ deny or confirm reports that Sweden lias submitted to Helsinki peace terms from Al. Stalin, providing lor the surrender of the Karelian Isthmus, Viborg, Lake Ladoga, and Petsamo. They also decline to discuss reports that Germany lias warned Sweden that the transit of volunteers would bo regarded as a hostile act. The impression prevails that Sweden is striving for a peaceful solution before the arrival of volunteers. A Copenhagen newspaper claims, to lie able to confirm that Dr Dietrich, the Nazi Press Chief, has been to Stockholm for a short visit, “which is naturally connected with the RussoFinnish dealings which are said to v he proceeding.” The Stockholm newspaper Aftonbladet says that Mr Sven Hcdin (the proNazi Swedish explorer and unofficial diplomat) conversed with the German Foreign Minister ’Herr von Ribbentrop) and discussed the possibilities of a settlement of the Busso-Finnisli war. STALIN’S DEMANDS. The Stockholm correspondent of the New York Times says that Helsinki is considering peace terms submitted by Russia through the Swedish Government. It is reported that Stalin proposed to annex the whole of the Karelian Isthmus and Lake Ladoga, including Sortavala (north of the lake) and Viborg, with a naval base at Hanko (near the entrance to the Gulf of Finland). Ho also wants territory in the Petsamo region in the far north. A Stockholm message says that dispatches from Finland suggest that the position at the southernmost end of the Finnish defences is becoming more critical. The Russians arc hurling masses of light tanks against the shore defences. They now possess all the islands comprising the group which extends from the Bjorko Peninsula for 19 miles across Viborg Bay. HOUSE-TO-HOUSE DUELS. Last night’s Finnish communique said that all Russian attempts to reach the mainland over the ice of Viborg Bay were repulsed with heavy losses. The attacks were supported bv aircraft, tanks, and artillery, but apparently failed to make any impression on the Finnish defence. In Russian air-raids in southern Finland, 40 people were killed and many wounded. The latest Finnish communique emphasises the deadly hard-hitting with which the defenders are repulsing numerous assaults against vital points. They claim a further 10 ’planes were shot down during Russian raids over a number of towns in which 40 inhabitants were killed and many wounded. Meanwhile, house-to-house fighting continues amid the ruins of Viborg in which there are scores of dead and wounded, who testify to both the fury ol tho attackers and the heroic courage of the defenders. Tho Oslo newspaper Tidens Tegn states that German ships >hre using Norwegian waters to carry arms to Russia. Norwegian pilots are not allowed aboard.

The original Russian demands on Finland before flic outbreak of hostilities comprised Hie cession of some territory north of Leningrad and the right lo establish naval bases' on certain islands in the Gulf of Finland, including Hanko. As a quid pro quo tho Soviet offered the Finns the province of Karelia. These demands were rejected by the Finns on the grounds that such concessions would endanger their security