The Wilmington morning star., 1946-08-27

fabrications" reports by the Off
cial Soviet news agency Tass that
Britain had set up military install
lations in the D~ardanelles area COW
ering the entrance to the Black Sea
and had assumed command of a
Turkish airfield near Istanbul.
4. Prime Minister Attlee confer
red with Foreign Secretary Bevin,
and official sources said their dis
cussian included the Soviet Ukraia-
ian complaint against the mainte-
nance of British troops in Greece.
"Unnoticed"
Moscow Commentator D. Melni-
kov declared that tae American
Yugoslav incident would have
gone unnoticed if it had been ad-
justed through the usual channels
If an apology had gone from the
government whose plane had VIC
lated the borders of the other gov
eminent" Yugoslavia charges re-
peated violations by British and
American planes preceded the
downing of two unarmed Ameri.
can transports, n on Aug. 9 and
the other Aug. 10. Four fliers died
and one is still missing in the lat
ter incident.
Anyone who has watched atten.
lively cannot fail to have noted a
number OF facts showing that the
United States is definitely attempt.
ing to put pressure on Yugoslavia
by a display of her strength and
might" Melnikov charged.
The commentator recalled the
parade of the U. S. S8th Division
in the Allied zone of disputed
Venezia Giulia last week, and add
ed:
Finally, there is a display Of
American Naval power as well
One of the biggest American air
craft carriers, the Franklin D,
Roosevelt, has been sent on a
Mediterranean cruise. The Ameri-
can press did not spare adjectives
or space to describe the might Of
this Warship. Another aircraft
carried, four cruisers and seven
destroyers yer sent to the Med
iterranean earlier"
Near Focal Point
British commentators have
speculated that a visit of the U.
S. Task force to the Eastern Med
lterranean would bring U. S. ships
close to the focal point of Mid
die East and Eastern Europe dis
agreements, including the Oar
danelles for which Russia has pro
posed a joint Russo-Turkish de-
Tense.
Official statements on the Task
force have explained its Mediter-
ranean visit as a cruise for train
ing and good will'' purposes.
The last officially announced
itinerary called for stops at Ma
Piles, Malta and Tangier at the
Western entrance to the Mediter-
ranean, but with regard to the
probability of a change, the
Navy spokesman here said such
information must be released in
Washington.
The task force technically is
under British command while it is
IN Mediterranean waters, just as
a British force would be under
American control in American
waters of the Central Pacific.
However, the British Admiralty
said it had no knowledge of the
predicted change in itinerary.
Assails Policy
The Moscow radio also assailed
British policy in Greece, an at
tack brought into sharp relief by
the Soviet Ukraine protest lodged
with the United Nations Security
council that the presence of British
troops in that country on the eve
of a .plebiscite on the monarchy
violated the principles Of the
United Nations charter.
A British foreign office spokes-
man said the Ukraine's protest
was akin to its previous charge
on the situation in Greece made
at a time when certain Eastern
European states themselves were
In the dock" His statement. which
obviously referred to the COM
plant of Iran to the U. N. coun-
ell against Soviet troops in Aver
zaijan province, was made in re-
ply to a question whether the
British believed the Ukraine
charge was a maneuver to counter
a possible United States complaint
against Yugoslavia.