Evening star., 1946-12-13
Big -Four Ministers
Agree Real Progfess
Is Made on Peace
sy shs As.osias.d Pres.

NEW YORK, Dec. 49,. Dlplo-
matte officials Of Russia and the
-Western powers agreed today that
Athe Council of Foreign Ministers
meeting in New York had made
great progress toward the estab-
listment of real peace Id Europe
and the world.
In the view OF American and
British diplomats perhaps the most
Important single disclosure of the
-meeting was change in direction
.xbf Russian foreign policy This
made possible completion Of the
-peace treaties with Italy, Bulgaria,
~Hungary, Romania and Finland,
and agreement on program for
tackling q German peace settle
ment at Moscow March 10
The New York conference ended
last night after almost six weeks
ROT sof daily meetings that ran To- 122
the total number Of sessions the
Big -Four has held on the, satellite
peace treaties this year.
- Experiences Held Valuabfe
- soviet Foreign Minister AG05otov,
u whose concessions on Trieste and
9 many lesser issues made possible
s. completion of the treaties here told
'ss-his colleagues that I'VE accompli plished
q an enormous amount OF work In
Paris" at the Peace ConfereEee and
Big Four Conferences and at the
earlier meetings in London in the
fall of 1945
Mr.. Molotov, Secretary Of State
Byrnes, British Foreign SECRETARY
Bevin and French Deput Fpreign
Minister Maurice Couve de Miaryille
.s.an agreed that-as Mr.. Byrnes ex-
pressed ft-"the experiences of the
members of the Council in the ne
gotiations of these five treaties will
be of great value to us in the con-
sideration Of the German treaty
I'VE know each other bettery Mr..
Byrnes told his colleagues, .NesknoW
the problem, and look harvard
with confidence to the solution of
the very difficult problems involved
in the German treaty"
Since ii. had previously been de-
cided to begin hearings for small
nations on Germany in London. in
January, and to sign the five satel-
lite treaties at Paris February 10|
preliminary to the Big Four meet
ing In Moscow March 10, last nights
final meeting was devoted largely to
clearing away details Of decisions
already made.
The only controversial point de-
j cided, due to another concession by
Mr.. Molotov, was agreement that
civil airplanes should have the right
to make distress landings in the five
former enemy countries.
Russian Policy Change Cited.
OF the broader political uues-
tions raised by developmentssin the
Big Four conference and by paral-
lei events in the United Nations,
by far the most widely discussed
was that of RuSsia's changed
diplomacy. Some experts sum It'll
up as rejecting q desire on the
part of the Kremlin, and particu-l
larly on Mr.. Molotov's part, to get
along with other governments
: rather than have constant trouble
and friction with them.
! This lis in sharp contrast tol
Russia's overall policies and meth
ods during earlier conferences
when the Soviet Union and the
Western powers were constantly at
loggerheads. The question which
is without answer here so far as
non Russian officials are concerned
is whether this change marks q
basic re-direction of Soviet for
eign policy or whether it is tactical
maneuver@ which leaves Russia 5
long-range objectives unchanged.
Western diplomats generally lean
to the idea that there is no evidence
yet of any truly fundamental shift
In Russian objectives, but believe
that this need not badly Offset the
view that at critical period in
, world history, the Eastern and
Western powers have shown them
selves to come to agreement on
major, highly controversial issues.