AGLO-RUSSIAN

Taranaki Daily News, 9 July 1929, Page 9

AGLO-RUSSIAN

CRITICISM OF BRITISH VIEW SOVIET UNLIKELY TO BUDGE •’OPTIMISM IS MISPLACED” By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Australian Press Association. Received July 8, 7.15 p.m. Times Cable. London, July 8. Moscow newspapers have received most unfavourably the statement regarding Anglo-Russian relations made on Friday by the British Foreign Secretary, the Rt. Hon. A. Henderson. Mr. Henderson's optimism is misplaced, declares the Izvestia, which discloses a pretended-secret that Sir Austen Chamberlain, his predecessor, several times discussed unofficially the-resump-tion of relations on conditions identical to those now put forward by the Labour Government. The Soviet refused them and is unlikely to budge at Air. Henderson’s suggestion. Britain must resume relations unconditionally. Mr. Henderson recalled the actual position of Anglo-Russian relations in the House of Commons on Friday. He said: “His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom accorded do jure recognition to the Government of Soviet Russia in 1924. From that time the Government of Soviet Russia was entitled to be recognised as the Government of the State, and is still recognised by his Majesty’s Government. It follows that the reciprocal rights and duties which international law recognise as incumbent on States in their relations to one another continue to subsist between this country and Russia, What tho rupture of 1927 did was to suspend the normal machinery of diplomatic relations. It is that machinery which now requires to be re-estab-lished.” In this the Government was, he thought, supported by the great volume of opinion in Britain. One or two replies had been received from the Dominions, but the Government was not taking action till it had found out whether it was going to receive any further replies. Referring to the anti-British manifesto issued in March by the Third Communist International, to which reference had been made by Sir Austen Chamberlain, Mr. Henderson said they had no association with it and would not be influenced by it. The Government had made it clear it was not going to tolerate Russian propaganda. Commenting earlier on the King’s Speech, Moscow newspapers were unanimous that the Soviet would not agree to any preliminary negotiations to determine the conditions of the resumption of diplomatic relations. The Izvestia recalled that immediate unconditional resumption had been a plank of tho Labour Party’s election platform. The paper declared the Soviet rather •than Great Britain should advance conditions and demand guarantees.