BIG THREE TALKS

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23257, 19 July 1945, Page 5

BIG THREE TALKS

*-*■*'-*' ' « Preliminary Exchange ! Of V’ews By Telegraph- NX Press -1> —C.iOSli-i. I (Rec. 7.30 p.tn.) LONDON. July 18. | Presided over by President | Truman, the Bisr Three held their first meeting at Pots- I dam this afternoon. The | meeting lasted half an hour | and is officially described as ( a preliminary exchange of j views. Matters requiring de- : cisions by the heads of the > three Governments were discussed and it was agreed I that the three Foreign Ministers meet regularly and j prepare the ground for their chiefs. The only news so far from the Big Three conference comes from President Truman's secretary, says the correspondent of the "Daily Express ’ in Berlin Apparently the President is accustomed to America's freedom of the Press and is not taking the Big Three silence as seriously as his com- ■ panions. Nothing has come from the I British and Russian delegations about I the activities of their chiefs, who are hidden behind a wall of secrecy. British and American Army Public Relations Officers announced to 100 journalists in the Press camp at Zehlendorf that they were no longer able to provide news because one or two newspapers criticised their work. Generalissimo Stalin, wearing his fawn-coloured uniform with single red star epaulette 1 and accompanied by M. Molotov (Foreign Commissar) late yes- i terday morning called on President Truman who was wearing an ordinary brown suit. The President conferred with Generalissimo Stalin. M. Molotov and Mr Bvrnes (U.S. Secretary of State) for an hour before lunch, after which the party withdrew to the porch to pose for Red Army and American photographers. Generalissimo Stalin’s official interpreter (V. N. Pavlov), who accompanied him to all the previous Big Three meetings, was again in attendance. President Truman. Generalissimo Stalin. M. Molotov and Mr Byrnes lunched together. The Prime Minister (Mr Churchill) entertained General G. C. Marshall, Chief of the United States Army, at dinner on Monday night and afterwards had a long talk with him. says a Berlin message. To-day Mr H. L. Stimson. United States Secretary for War. and Mr C. R. Attlee and Lord Leathers had lunch with Mr Churchill. Explosions In Soviet Area No Explanation Given BERLIN. July 17. Three terrific explosions, apparently from the Russian zone, rocked 1 rlin and Potsdam at intervals roughly from 9 am. They rattled windows for miles and made Berliners scurry for shelter. They sounded like huge demolitions. No explanation has been given. American security officers stated that the Russians are doing considerable demolition work and the blasts might be the continuation of this.

Russian Guards Surprised “Tommies” March Past LONDON, July 17. “British troops with fixed bayonets marched on to a Berlin airfield on Sunday, past surprised Russian guards, who had raised the previously closed barriers,” states the correspondent of “The Times” at Potsdam. “However, no international incident was precipitated and none is likely to develop. “The Tommies' action broke an impasse produced by conflicting administrative arrangements. The Russians guarding the aerodrome where Mr Churchill and President Truman were scheduled to arrive had orders to allow no one to pass the barrier without proper authority. A company of the Grenadier Guards arrived with orders to be beyond the barrier at a specified time. “Faced by Russian obedience to orders, as the time drew short, the Grenadiers fixed bayonets, sloped arms, and marched forward. The Red Army sentries raised the barrier. “The incident was typical of the occasional lapses in liaison among the tripartite Allied administrations. The British authorities have not always provided credentials acceptable to the Russians.”

Churchill A Hero In Berlin ‘Extraordinary Sensation” LONDON. July 16. “A most extraordinary and significant thing happened during Mr Chiirihill’s tour of Berlin. All the Germans who saw him wanted to fraternise with him,’’ states the correspondent of the “Daily Mail" in Berlin. “They waved and smiled, and had to be brushed back by military police, for otherwise they would have mobbed him as a hero. “Thev crowded in as soon as they realised Iris identity, and hardly believed their eyes when they saw Mr Churchill walking from a jeep with his friends and colleagues, showing himself to Berlin just because he wanted to see things for himself. “It seems hard to believe that Germans would ever be pleased to see Mr Churchill. Yet they were to-day smiling and exclaiming’ excitedly, •Veenston Churcheel’ as he passed.” Tile Berlin correspondent of the “Daily Telegraph” states: “It was an try sensation to see Mr Cp-"'ciiili. the bitterest foe of Nazism and the most hated man in Germany, wal'ki ’ with nlv a couple of detectives and a T.ai'.dful of military police for “Hard He was as much at his ease as lb m '.. .-rolling in Bond Street, though the risk he ran must have crossed the minds of most of those present.’ .