Evening star., 1941-11-03

oAASA ACcAASho AAoAAo oAAAAOoo
complete restoration Of the old
Turkish Empire in Asia, with a
few Russian provinces thrown in
for good measure.
The reward is said to depend
entirely on how far Turkey is
willing to play along with the
Axis. There is one remuneration
for q merely passive attitude in
the event the Nazi legions force
their way through Syria to Iraq;
there is another-much more
tempting if Turkey actively
joins the Axis powers.
Would Join New Order"
For passivity alone Turkey is
said to have been promised an
nexation of Armenia as far as
Novo Bayzet, which is on the
shore Of Lake Sevan, about 40
miles from Turkeys eastern
border, and rectification Of
frontiers in the south at the
expense of Syria. Germany is
said to have undertaken not to
interfere with Turkeys inoepend-
ence and to guarantee its terri
torial integrity, both in Europe
and Asia.
OF course, Inonu has no il
lusions about what such pledge
may mean. He realizes that
while Turkey will remain NOM
inally independent 1t will have to
Join Hitler's new order" which
would make a German protecto-
rate of all Asia Minor.
But in the event Turkey grants
German troops transit through
its territory to attack the British
in Iraq and Syria and joins the
Germans forces, as the Ruma-
mans have done, by attacking the
Russians in the Caucasus, the
sky is the limit Of what Turkey
can obtain-on paper-from the
Reich.
Won Papen. speaking in the
name of the Fuehrer. informed
the Turks that the whole Cau-
casus, including Georgia and
Azerbaijan, where the majority
Of the population is Moslem,
would become part Of Turkey.
In the south Turkey was told
that she could regain Syria,
Transjordan. Palestine and Iraq,
territories which were part Of the
old Ottoman empire dismembered
In the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly.
Britain Offers Little.
Britain has mighty little to
offer Turkey as territorial COM
pensation for steering clear Of
Nazi temptations. But it does
have one thing to offer for which
the present Turkish regime has
fought for many years-a definite
guarantee that the Turks can
live as free men within their
present borders and that they
can work and expand econom-
ically with the full assistance and
cooperation Of the western de-
mocracies.
Turkey was most unhappy
when it was large country and
the Ankara government is we'll
aware that territorial expansion
alone can be of no use unless it
is coupled with complete free
dom. But while President Inonu
and his chief advisers recognize
the pitfalls Of Germany's plans
for Turkeys aggrandizement,
they also know that unless the
British can offer them full mill
tary guarantees they may lose
territory and their independence
if they resist the Nazis.
In certain military quarters in
Ankara there is some doubt
whether the present British Near
Eastern force is sufficiently strong
and we'll equipped to meet a
Nazi onslaught within the next
few months, if the Germans at
tack with the same determination
and preparation they have in
the past. Ankara is closely watch
ing the reinforcements the Brit
ish are sending to this next war
area. President Inonu's final de-
cision will be determined by his
estimate of the chance the Brit
ish have Of defeating the Nads
in the Near East.