LEAGUE COUNCIL MEETING

Southland Times, Issue 23816, 13 May 1939, Page 7

LEAGUE COUNCIL MEETING

Postponement Sought By Russia Timi FOR DELEGATE TO REACH GENEVA (British Official Wireless) (Received May 12, 5.5 p.m.) RUGBY, May 11. It is understood that negotiations are in train at Geneva for postponement of the meeting of the Council of the League of Nations. According to rotation it is the turn of the Russian member to preside, and the Soviet is believed to desire more time to allow its representative to reach Geneva. In the past M. Maxim Litvinov, the former Commissar for Foreign Affairs, generally attended, and it is likely that if M. Molotov, the acting Commissar, cannot himself leave Moscow the Soviet would wish M. Potemkin, Vice-Com-missar for Foreign Affairs, to represent Russia. , It is surmised that the purpose of the call of the Russian Ambassador (M. Ivan Maisky) today on the Foreign Secretary (Lord Halifax) was to solicit Britain’s interest in favour of postponement of the meeting. It may be assumed that Britain would be agreeable to a short postponement if it would enable either M. Molotov or M. Potemkin to come to Geneva.

In recent replies in the House of Commons the Prime Minister (Mr Neville Chamberlain) made it clear that Lord Halifax would welcome an opportunity of a personal exchange of views with M. Molotov at Geneva, where the Foreign Minister (M. Georges Bonnet) will represent France. Such a meeting and conversations at first hand could not fail to be of advantage to that prosecution of negotiations between London, Moscow and Paris on Eastern European security questions which Mr Chamberlain’s statements in the House of Commons have shown it to be the desire of Britain to effect.

A later message states that the meeting of the council has been postponed provisionally until May 22.