CONCERN IN BRITAIN AT OUTCOME OF INCREASING SOVIET-YUGOSLAV TENSION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27166, 23 August 1949, Page 5

CONCERN IN BRITAIN AT OUTCOME OF INCREASING SOVIET-YUGOSLAV TENSION

New Zealand Press Association—Copyright

Rec. 10.10 p.m. LONDON, Aug. 22. A grave view of the developments in relations between Russia and Yugoslavia is taken by two national newspapers to-day, one of them, the Daily Mail, declaring: “Hostility has reached such a pitch that the outbreak of war would not be surprising. Russia, in fact, has gone so far as to threaten war. How else are we to interpret Moscow’s statement that if Marshal Tito does not niend his ways she will resort to ‘ other more effective means ’ to protect her citizens in Yugoslavia and ‘ bring order to unrestrained Fascist offenders ’?

“ We can but watch events, remembering that a Russian invasion of Yugoslavia would be a serious threat to British and American interests,” the paper adds. “ Under the Truman policy the United States is pledged to sustain Greece and Turkey.” Pointing out that the Yugoslavs alone know whether they are going to overthrow Marshal Tito or hot, the Liberal Manchester Guardian says the Cominform has been telling the Yugoslavs over and over again not only that is what they are. eoing to do, but also why they are going to do it. The Guardian said: “Like most of the Cominform’s campaigns, it has an obvious political purpose. It would be reasonable, too, to draw the obvmus political inference that the Communists think the time has come to overthrow their former ally. Now tnat their Greek allies are in such distress, Marshal Tito’s continued presence in Belgrade is far more inconvenient to their cause than at any time since his heresy became apparent.” Negotiations on Austria

The Yugoslav Government yesterday admitted that it had conducted negotiations on Austria with Britain “ behind the back ” of Russia. The admission was made in the Yugoslav reply to the Russian Note of August 12, which described Marshal Tito’s Government as the “ enemy and opponent of the Soviet Union.” The Yugoslav Note said the Yugoslav Government was of the opinion that the “ offensive tone of the Russian Note did not warrant a reply,” but added: “The Yugoslav Government, however, wants to refer to certain facts completely distorted in the Soviet Note for the purpose of defending history’s truth on the question of the abandonment of Slovene Carinthia.” The Note said it was not correct, as the Soviet Note alleged, that the Yugoslav Government had renounced claims to Slovene Carinthia at a time when the Soviet Government was still supporting Yugoslav demands. The Soviet Government had consistently given the Yugoslav Government the impression that there was practically no hope that its claims would be adopted by the Council of Foreign Ministers, and Mr Molotov and Mr Vyshinsky had said they had kept it on the Agenda only to facilitate a positive solution of the question of German property in Austria for the Soviet Union. Soviet’s Demand The Yugoslav Note added that the Yugoslav Government not only had never renounced and never stopped fighting for the incorporation of Slovene Carinthia in Yugoslavia, but it would never have been willing to give in had it not been for the Soviet Government’s demand and because it had no other way out. The Soviet Government not only ceased to support Yugoslav claims for the incorporation of Slovene Carinthia, but even demands for minor frontier alterations. Replying to the Soviet allegation that Yugoslavia had conducted negotiations on Austria with Britain “ behind the back” of Russia, the Note admitted such negotiations, but said the approach to the Western Powers was made at the suggestion of Mr Molotov and Mr Vyshinsky. The Note said the Soviet Government had promised the Austrian Government to de-

fend the immutability of Austrian frontiers —a promise which could not remain unknown to the western Powers—then had thrust the Yugoslav Government towards those _ very Powers with the aim of reaching a contrary result. “ Enemy Attitude “

The Yugoslav Note, which was frontpage news in all Belgrade newspapers, added; “The enemy attitude of the Russian Government is known from the series of Russian Government acts towards Yugoslavia. “ That attitude is merely the consequence of a campaign which the Russian Government is conducting, and which is not only against the interests of Socialist Yugoslavia, but is damaging to the entire anti-imperialistic world democratic front.” The Stockholm Liberal newspaper Expression says that Moscow is obviously trying to force a coup d’etat. The paper says that the Cominform phalange m Yugoslavia is strong, but it is doubtful if it has sufficienf supporters to risk such a venture without help from the other side of the frontier. “Tito can consolidate his position—by economic aid streaming in from the west among other things —if the opposition delays its action,” says the paper. “The army is tipped as the leader of any coup against Tito. It has been organised by Moscow and is strongly influenced by the Cominform. But are its leaders stronger than Tito’s State police? ” „ In Bucharest the Rumanian Foreign Minister, Anna Pauker, in a newspaper article to-day, said: “ The day is not far oil when the Tito bandits will render an account to the people of Yugoslavia. They will not do business much longer.”