Evening star., 1944-08-05
Turks Demand Allies
Give Air Protection
Before Entering War
IN PERTINAx.

down very definite conditions onl
which 1t would declare war on Ger
many. Among others, 1t insists on
the Allied command setting apart
an air force for the special protec-
tion of Turkish territory and. above
all, of Istanbul, against onslaughts
by German bombers.
To what extent the Allied COM
mand will consider 1t possible to
comply with fthe Turkish demand
cannot be ascertained. Therefore, it
ought not to be taken for granted
that in Asia Minor airfields will be
placed at the disposal of the Allies
without further delay. Besides,
whatever airf1elds exist there are
Of the most primitive kind. To
make them really serviceable for
the elaborate types Of aircraft used
by the British and American Air
Forces is bound to require good
deal of time and to call for con-
siderable quantities of materials.
The best part of the Turkish
Army, some 10 divisions, has been
assembled on the Tchataldja lines
and in the area between those forti-
fed positions and Gallipoli. During
the last three weeks reinforcements
have been brought up from Ana
tolia. But, assuming that Ger
many declares war on Turkey-anI
improbable contingency, but one
which cannot be entirely dismissed
Or that the Ankara government
having won all its points, takes such
step. what can be expected from
Turkish military power?
Direction Of Wind.
In the present circumstances,
very little. The best political and
military observers in Arkara are
convinced that the Turkish gen.
eral staff is not likely to send its
troops across the frontier in Thrace
so long as a single German soldier
remains on Bulgarian soil. But di-
rectly German domination has van
ished in Sofia, the Bagrianov-Zdi-
kelt government Is sure to make
way for successors who will turn
to the Russians. Recently. Mr.. Ba-
labanof, the Bulgarian Minister In
Ankara, left to consult with his
government. Before starting on his
journey, he visited neutral military
attaches and asked them whether
the defeat of Germany had to be
regarded as an accomplished fact.
This is a clear sign of the direction
the wind is blowing in the Bull
garian capital.
Consequently, Turkeys material
contribution to the Allied cause may
not at best, go beyond lending air.
fields in Asia Minor and giving the
Allies free play in her territorial
waters The mere prospect Of this
may, it is true, induce the Germans
to withdraw their armed forces from
Mytilene, Samos, Lemnos and Chios.
Waited Too Long.
The truth Is that Turkey has
waited too long for her entrance
into the war to be attended with
great military consequences. And
Turkey chose to temporize because
the fear of Russia's tremendous
power preyed more and more on her
mind. That fear is clearly reflected
in leitmotiv of which the Turkish
press has made great use:
"If the Allied Nations want to
shorten the war why do they cling
to the unintelligent policy adopted
in the Casablanca Conference, the
policy of unconditional surrender"
In other terms. Turkish statesmen
hardly conceal their hope that Ger
many may survive to rank as an ele-
ment in an eventual Turkish game of
balance of power. But they realize
that British and American good will
must be enlisted, that they will need
it, at the peace conference, to resist
Russian claims against their country
The breaking off of diplomatic and
economic relations was conceded in
that spirit to British pressure on
July 4.
ITO prop up our independence
with your own guarantee and let us
play part in the Near East after
the war" This sentence is bor-
rowed from the Turkish newspaper
Tan.
Russian Attitude.
The Russian attitude toward
Turkey can be summed up in two
sentences with which Soviet dig
nitaries have been credited by
diplomats in Ankara:
I'VE are not ready to extend to
Turkey the treatment of a full
! f1edged ally. The German-Turkish
pact of friendship concluded on
June Is, 194l, within three days of
the Hitlerian attack on Russian
territory, cannot be easily forgot
ten or forgiven" .
1t means that, as far as Russia is
concerned, Turkey is not to be al
located seat in the eventual coun-
Gil of the United Nations without
further ado. Turkey will have first
to foot the bill drawn up in Mos
COW.
Those may be transient feelings.
The British Ambassador in Ankara,
Sir Hugh M. Knatchbull- -Huges-
sen, now is engaged in bringing to-
! nc