Evening star., 1943-09-26
Russiun Accord
Is Key to Peace
By ODen l.. Scott.

| JneOry ana 1deolOgy and maximum of
practical politics in the task of seeking
a basis for agreement with Russia on
postwar settlements.
Russia apparently is interested in the
good-neighbor idea upon which President
Roosevelt hopes to base a peace settle
ment. Yet, at the same time, she prefers
to talk about strategic boundaries and
territory and trade rights. This talk, in
turn, appears to clash at number of
points with promises to small nations
that are contained in the Atlantic
Charter
Mr.. Roosevelt and Prime Minister
Churchill are up against the problem of
reconciling these situations. There is
nothing to suggest that they will not
succeed in accomplishing their purpose,
but the accomplishment will come more
through bargaining than through public
discussion. If they do succeed, then the
basis may be laid for relative degree of
political stability in the world for many
| years to come. If they do not succeed,
| the settlements after this war may be
little more secure than after the last.
Some of the most difficult points at
issue concern Russia's natural desire for
greater security. This desire, in turn,
affects the boundaries of the future Fin
land, Poland, Rumania and Bulgaria as
we'll as the fate of the Baltic states of
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Russia,
too, has interests in Iran that can clash
with British interests, and in the Far
East she.i is interested in Manchuria and
in any settlement affecting China.
Many Conflicting Interests.
Then, too. Russia has very definite
ideas about the future of Germany. She
has an economic interest in Italy Rus
sian interests in the Balkans are very
large At all of these points the views
OF Great Britain and the United States
must be reconciled, so far as possible.
with those of Russia in order to avoid
issues that may give rise to future dis
| cord. These and other issues will be the
basis for any conference now to be held
| between foreign ministers of the three
big powers and, later, for any conference
between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stain.
Reconciliation of viewpoints, however,
is not to be found easy. A few examples
| show why this is So
In Poland, the Russians insist that
| they must be given boundary that in
cludes large slice of what had been pre-
| war Poland. The United States and
Britain, however oppose any settlement
| that would throw large numbers of Polish
people into Russia. This opposition, in
the case Of the United States, is some
| what intensified by an important voting
Polish population in large cities of the
East and Midwest.
In the Balkans, Russia Is very much
| interested in helping those groups that
are friendly to her. These groups, how
| ever, often are favorable to revolutionary
changes that would upset property re-
lationships through that part of the
| world The British have trade and other
interests that might be affected by any
violent shift of control inside these
| countries.
| In, Iran, the Russians are interested
in an outlet to the Indian Ocean through
the Persian Gulf and they are not un-
mindful of the oil resources of the area.
Yet the British now control in this part
| OF the world, with American help, and
may not take too kindly to any Rus
sian encroachment
Chinese Communist Problem,
In China, the Russian government is
| friendly to the so-called Communist gov
ernments and Communist armies. The
United States is friendly to the govern
ment of Chang Kai-shek which Is very
t,> hran III,
power of the Chinese Communists. There
are the makings of civil war in China
here, which could become very embar-
RAISING in the postwar period. Then, too,
Russia Is likely to have some scores to
settle with Japan before the present war
ends and in that case she will be in a
position to seek return of Port Arthur,
in Manchuria, which she lost to Japan
back in 1905.
1t may be that many of the problems,
| OF which these are few samples, may
| be resolved If Russia becomes convinced
| that the United States and Great Britain
| are intent upon dealing with Germany
| in way that will prevent her from ris-
| ing in few years to serve as a spear
| head of forces that would challenge the
Russians. The difficulty In this case is
! that Germany that is weakened in
| dustrially to the extent that would limit
| her military power very strictly would
complicate the problem of economic re-
| vival in Europe. Yet Germany that Is
| permitted to remain strong industrially
| could, in one way or another, rebuild her
| military strength,
There seems to be official agreement
| here that nothing is more important than
| success in finding basis for stability of
relations with Russia. The reason Is
that if this stability can be established
then any incipient political troubles in
| the world can be dealt with effectively
before they generate forces that lead to
another general war.
Yet an absence of stable relations with
Russia can lead to continuing political
uncertainty in the postwar world that
could readily be aggravated by Russia,
| sitting as she Is in the center both of
Europe and Asia. That explains why
Mr.. Roosevelt and Mr.. Churchill are
striving to find a basis for doing busi-
ness with Mr.. Stain.
Convicts Help Out