IGNORED BY EAST

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26848, 12 August 1948, Page 5

IGNORED BY EAST

WESTERN POWERS AT DANUBE CONFERENCE SOVIET PREAMBLE ACCEPTED N.Z.P.A.—Copyright Rec. 8 p.m. BELGRADE, Aug. 10. Eastern Europe’s Communist bloc over-ruled the Western Powers’ attempts to broaden the terms of the new Danube pact, and accepted the Russian-drafted preamble. The conference, by seven votes to three, rejected a French attempt to substitute in the Russian preamble a clause which would place the conference on record as favouring “ a liaison between the new Danube commission and the United Nations." The conference also defeated, by seven votes to three, the United States suggestions, the chief of which would ensure that the Danube Pact would protect the interests of all nations.

The conference accepted the Russian preamble intact. The United States and France opposed the motion, and Britain abstained from voting. The British delegates’ abstention from the Soviet preamble to the new Danube convention caused some surprise, especially as they had voted with the French and Americans on the three rejected amendments which would have certified the international character of the Danube in a sense favourable to the Western Powers, says the Belgrade correspondent of The Times. The Soviet preamble speaks of the “ Danube States.” and makes only passing reference to other nations. The Eastern Powers are implicitly assuming that the Western Powers accept any clauses in the Soviet draf* t 0 which they do not propose amendments. The British attitude is that their wishes and interests are being ignored and that it will be best for them not to be associated with the draft but the question is being asked why in that case did the British delegates remain at the conference at all