Evening star., 1943-10-03
Moscow Parley to Pave Way
For Frank Talks on War Issues
By Constantine Br0wu.

Tor FRANK i d
BY Consfa
The State Department and the British
Foreign Office are busy preparing for
the important diplomatic conference
which will be held in Moscow in the next
few weeks.
This will be the first real exchange OF
views on political matters between the
three major United Nations powers.
Because the conference will take place
in Moscow under the immediate super
vision of Premier Stain we may expect
some very frank talk by our Russian
associates. There will be no ideological
This better world, in the opinion of our
eastern friends, is bound to come after
the war, if their basic point of view is
accepted by the Allies.
The American and British policy di-
rectors have only an inkling of what the
Russians will suggest as postwar policy
for the United Nations. And neither
Washington nor London is willing to talk
openly about what they expect to have
proposed to them in Moscow.
The Russians have been plain spoken
about their intentions From the state
ments made by Stain himself and the
official Soviet press, it is obvious that
the basic theological of the Russian gov
eminent can be summed up in a few
words as desire to push the enemy out
of Russian territory, to destroy Hitler
and his henchmen who have brought
to the fore the particular form of ma
tiOnal socialism known as Htlerism, anC
to regrOup Europe in manner which
would shelter Russia against any possible
future aggression, giving her at the same
without which she considers herself
stifed.
Price for Co operation.
Russia considers herself land-locked
at present. This largest homogeneous
empire in the world has only one real
outlet-Vladivosto the Pacific. Her
ports on the Baltic Sea can always be
controlled by the powers which straddle
the exit to the North Sea and the At
lantic while the exits from the Black Sea
ports are controlled by the powers which
hold the Dardanelles.
Hence, 1t is natural that some Ameri-
can diplomatic observers should believe
that the Soviet government ought to ask
some concessions whereby it would OBJ
tam free and unhampered access to the
open seas. This would be the price for
Russia s continuing in the war after Ger
man forces have been removed from
Soviet territory.
Inc BfltlSh representatives at Moscow
Will approach the question with an open
mind. They and their people over the
centuries have become used to under
standing the full meaning of the words
zones of influence" and balance of
power They will look at the situation
from the point of view of what is now
best for the British Empire.
The British government, Of course In.
tends TO maintain the pledges it ha,
given to its minor war associates such a,
the Poles and the peoples of the Balkan
Peninsula But promises made under one
set OF circumstances need not be kept
IN the full meaning of the word under
another set Of circumstances. This i.
called diplomacy and has been practicec
IN Europe for many years.
When Britain promised the absolute
reinstatement of their sovereignty to Po.
land, Yugoslavia and Greece, and vher
she was prepared to send an expedition.
ary force into Finland to save her from
Soviet aggression in 1889 and 1910, Rus.
s!a was an associate Of the Reich
See Need for Red Aid.
The situation changed. Fortunately 70,
the United Nations. when Hitler attacked
Russia and was badly mauled by ths
Russian bear. Moreover. the overwhelm.
ing majority Of the British and Ameri.
can strategiSts believe that the success OF
our campaign in Europe depends Iareel,
on Russias continuing TO press the Nazis
from the east.
SO II some readjustmentS OF the orig
mai pledges given to the minor United
Nations powers may be necessary it woulc
not be surprising if the British states
men were to try to induce the various
governments in exile to accede to them
Prime Minister Churchill limited after
the Casabanca conference that he was
in favor of the smaller nations of Eu-
rope being represented at the peace table
by one delegate speaking for a regional
group.
The American Government necessarily
will have more difficulty in making sub
stantiaf concessions regarding future So
Wet frontiers if they nave to be extended
into the territories of nations which
have received our pleGge tnat they would
emerge from the war in the same shape
as before they wer attacked.
The American people have not yet beer
accustomed to thinking in terms Of power
politics and balance of power. We are in
the war Fundamentally. Former isola
tionists and interventionists, extreme ma
tionalists and advocates of Americas be-
coming a piece of international ma
S'iAif>is' tiiVN an nave oile pdi dlilouIl'
oblective-to crush the Axis to such ar
extent that We may not have to fight
another world war for several genera
tionS.
The administration is aware that most
OF the people Of this country who have
been called to make heavy sacrifices tc
prevent Britain and the rest of Europe
cited this sentence from Churchill's
Harvard speech: