The sun., 1917-12-17
ARMISTICE BY
BOLSHEVIKI IN
EFFECT TO-DAY
Both Berlin and PetrOgrad
Proclaim Immediate Ne
gOtiatiOns for Peace.
RUSSIA VIOLATES PLEDGE
Action Makes Her Liable to-
Treatment as Enemy by .
Entente Allies.
RUSSIA VIOLATES PLEDGE

LONDON, Dec. 16.--Formal announce
ment is made to-day by Berlin that an
armistice has been signed between Rusr
sia Spd Germany and that n clause in
The agreement specifies that peace nego.
tiations are To begin i,nmed ateiy. Rus
sia thereby violates her written treaty
with the Allies not TO make a separate
peace and lays herself open to the pos
sibility Of treatment by them as an
enemy. The Berlin official statement
follows:
An armistice agreement was signed
at Brest-Litovsk yesterday BY plen-
ipotentiary representatives of the
Russian upper army administration
on the one hand and those OF the
upper army administrations of Ger
many, Austria Hungary. Bulgaria
and Turkey on the other hand.
The armistice begins at noon De.
cember II and remains in force until
January IA. 1913. Unless seven days
notice is given It continues in force
automatically. It exterds to all the
land. air and naval forces Of the con-.
mon fronts.
According to clause . OF the treaty
peace negotiations are to begin irome-
diately after the signing Of an ar
m'stice.
Version of BOlsheviki.
An announcement was made in Petro-
grad differing somewhat in detail Petro-
erad is silent on signing the armistice.
but says the agreement was reached Fri
day. Berlin mentions Saturday. The
Russian statement limits the agreement
to January l2. the German statement
says IL begins tomorrow and ends Jan
uary "a. but renews Itself automatically.
Following is the Russian report:
The Russian delegates constituting the
armist!ce committee at Brest- -I.itovsk
have advised the Bolshevik authorities
at the Smolny Institute that an agree
ment was reached with the Germans on
Friday concerning the transfer Of troops.
It was to this effect:
Both sides signine this agreement
blnd themselves until January IL, 1918,
not To carry On operative military
transfers on the froat from the Battle
70 the Black See, except such transfers
~ we're ALREADY Assln up to the mo.
mont Of sleains this agreement
Troop Transfers -ForhiAdea.
Leon Trotzky the Bolshevik Foreign
Minister. declared At a meeting OF the
Petrograd Council of Soldiers and
Workmen's Delegates last night that
peace negotiations would be begun i'm
mediately after tho armistice had been
signed. The Foreign Minister announced
that for a time a break in the negota
tions seemed imminent because Gen.
Hoffman, won Hofmeister). the Ger
man negotiator. insisted on the right to
German commander finally accepted the
Russian formula.
We cant and won't aid militarisn
in any way" NJ. Trotzky said. This
question Of transferring troops was mos,
fundamental. think our formula is
considered by our allies TO be satisfac-
tory"
II will be noted that in the prohibition
of the movement Of troops which cover,
the entire Russian front such transfers
as were already begun when the agree
ment was signed are expressly excluded
This excludes practically all the shift
ing OF troops TO the western front, as
that movement OF about 500, 900 troops
was begun more than week ago. Ir
other words. the prohibition is the fim
siest kind of pretext and does not prevent
the transfer Of single regiment from
the Russian to the French front.
krylenkO Suspenda Operations.
4 Russian Government wirelcs. mes
sage received here says
Ensign krylenko Commander In
Chief OF the army In proclamation
addressed to all the army commands
on all the fronts and the military
revolutionary committees. announces
that IN consequence OF the signing