EMBARGO ON ARMS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20342, 27 June 1934, Page 8

EMBARGO ON ARMS.

Italy and Japan Alone Have Not Agreed. British Official Wireless. (Received Tune 27, 2 p.m.) RUGBY, June 26. Questioned as to the conditions attached by Italy to her acceptance of the arms embargo to Bolivia and Paraguay, Sir John Simon said that he understood that the Italian Government had made their acceptance of the contemplated measure conditional upon its acceptance by a number of other specified Governments. As the Italian list included Russia and Japan, invitations were duly transmitted by the League Committee of Three to the Governments of these two countries to participate. Also, the Government of Russia had announced its agreement. The position as regards Japan was that a formal agreement had not yet been given, although it had been explained that no exports of arms had in fact been sent from Japan to Bolivia or Paraguay. The Italian Government had also stipulated that current contracts should be exempted from the proposed embargo. This difficulty had not yet been overcome, though the League Committee of Three had recommended that if such a reservation was to be made, a definite and very brief time-limit should be laid down during which it should be operative. Sir John Simon added that he had no information as to the duration of the existing Italian contracts. Over thirty countries have declared their agreement in principle with the proposed arms embargo, Italy and Japan being the only two Governments on the list of those approached from which such a declaration had not, as yet, been received.