Evening star., 1939-10-19
Turkey Is Expected
To Open DardaneNes
To Allied Fleet
Britoin Would Be Able
To Garry Blockade
Into Black SEQ
By PERTINAX.


signed today are of military, fican-
cial and economic nature, and are
intended to give practical effect to
the Anglo-Turkish and Franco
Turkish treaties of mutual assistance |
concluded on May II and June %,
respectively.
In accordance with these treaties
Of mutual assistance, first, Great
Britain, France and Turkey are
bound to help one another with all
their forces to resist aggression in |
the Eastern Mediterranean; sec
ond, Great Britain and France, If |
called upon to redeem their pledges |
toward Rumania and Greece, will be |
able to rely on the support of Tur-
key, as defined in the military con- |
ventions; third, France, Britain |
and Turkey will consult together for
the purpose of safeguarding the
existing territorial and political |
structure in the Balkan Peninsula.
Moreover, having entered into
those commitments toward the west
ern powers, Turkey may be relied
upon to carry out faithfully her OBJ
legation under the Montreux con-
vention and open the Dardanelles
Straits to French and British war
ships in an emergency. 1t means,
and this point is of paramount i'm
portance, that the transport of sup
plies across the Black Sea, especially
of Caucasian oil, for the benefit of
Germany will not escape in all cir
cupstances the control of the Anglo
French squadrons. In other words,
the blockade enforced against the
Hitlerian empire will not end In the
north of the Aegean at the entrance
Of the Dardanelles.
Kremlin Almost Persuaded.
The Ankara government semi
officially let it be known that it had
not been possible for Foreign Min
lister Sukru Saracoglu to bring to
successful termination the negotia-
lions he chad begun with Joseph
Stain and Premier Moloton over
three weeks ago.
Saracoglu went to the Soviet cap
ital toward the end of September
in the hope that he could build
q bridge between the Western pow
ers and Russia, and, week ago,
all the appearances were that he
was about to persuade his inter-
locuters in the Kremlin. All the
requisite texts had been drafted
and had won the approval of the
Paris and London cabinets.
1t is enough to recall that the
Anglo French Turkish treaties of
mutual assistance were not to op-
crate outside the Eastern Med
iterranean area; that Russia pledged
herself to cooperate with Turkey
(and, indirectly with the Western
powers) for the maintenance of
the territorial integrity and neu-
trality Of the Balkan nations, which
had explicitly or implicitly COM
missioned Saracoglu to act on their
behalf in Moscow, and that Russia
and Turkey bound themselves
never to make war against each
other.
= But the whole system rested on
the fundamental assurance to be
given by Stain to Saracoglu that
Soviet Russia would not depart
from her position of neutrality in
the present war between the Anglo
French allies and Germany, as it
was obvious that were Russia to cast
her lot with Germany the two sets
OF obligations assumed by Turkey
toward the western powers, on the
one side, and toward Russia, on the
other, would Immediately clash.
Protests From Germany.
Such was the elaborate diplomatic
construction that has crumbled
down as the outcome of the protests
and remonstrances made in Moscow
by German diplomacy. Not only did
the Russian representatives avoid
giving the pledge required by
Saracoglu that the Soviet Union
would never become a belligerent
In the present war, but they en-
deavored to place Turkish policy
under such restriction as to make it
unlawful for the Ankara govern
ment, under the agreement, to be
included in group of powers ad-
verse to the camp that Russia
AAA6AAV CAAOOoC W JOl1l. NOI COVcI,
they asked for a revision of the
Montreux convention calculated to
make the opening of the straits to
foreign warships depend upon the
will of the Moscow dictator.
Such were the conditions pro-
duced in the ultimate phase of the
Russo Turkish conversations which
have been alluded to in the Ankara
communique. Clearly, the Russians
have been afraid lest, through fall
ing in with the Turkish schemes,
they should strike blow at their
association with Germany, which
has proved so fruitful to them since
September, and, for the time being,
they have deemed it more prudent
not to tie their hands. 1t may be
suspected too that they are not per-
haps too willing to refrain from
fulfilling in the Balkans the tradi-
tional ambitions of Russian diplo-
macy.
Nevertheless, the advantage scored
by Germany is very superficial, and
perhaps temporary. The decisive
fact is that Franco British
Turkish tripartite agreement now