Evening star., 1949-12-26
Tito Turninq West

Although limited to civilian transport
planes, the YugoslavAmerican air agree
ment constitutes an encouraging new de-
velopment in the cold war raging between
Marshal Tito and the men of the Kremlin.
The latter, of course, will not like it. With
good reason, they will view it as additional
evidence of steady progress toward COM
plete rapprochement between Belgrade
and the West-a prospect that clashes serl-
ously with Soviet ambitions to dominate
not merely Eastern Europe but the whole
continent.
Under the new agreement, Yugoslavia
will permit the planes of one OF our COM
mercial airlines (probably Pan American)
to discharge and pick up passengers and
mail at Belgrade-an arrangement that
will shorten the present New York-to-Cal-
cutta run by about 800 miles. In return for
this, the Yugoslavs will be granted similar
rights in the American zones OF Germany
and Austria. Eventually, these mutual
privileges may be broadened, the Tito
government having announced that 1t Is
interested in developing its own trans
atlantic service, which would require land
ing permits in the United States
Taken by itself, this development may
not seem to amount to much more than
mutually convenient business arrangement
in the field of commercial air travel. How
ever considered within the context OF the
Kremlin's undisguised and potentially ex-
plosive effort to liquidate the heretical
Tito, it is meaningful in both political
and psychological sense. Certainly, in q
way that can hardly be hidden from people
behind the Iron Curtain, it dramatizes the
great change that has taken place IN
Yugoslav and Yugoslav-Russian
relations within the past three years
Thus, back in August of 1946, when Mar
shall Tito was regarded as the Soviet
Unions strongest and best puppet, he
United States was holding him to account
for shooting down unarmed American
planes Since then, though still describing
himself as 100 per cent Communist, the
Belgrade dictator in acts Of spectacular
defiance, has broken away from Moscow
and earned its undying enmity by insisting
on policies calculated to keep his country
independent. In the course OF ensuing
events, besides satisfying our demands OF
1916, he has obviously turned his face more
and more westward.
The new air understanding Is only the
latest example of how embattled Yugo-
slavia, on one hand, and the United States
and the West as whole, on the other, have
been lining up together in kind OF COM
mon front against Russian expansionism.
A few days ago, President Truman took
pains to declare that we are just as much
opposed to aggression against the Yugo-
slavs as against anybody else, and before
that-some time ago-we released Yugo-
slavia's gold reserves in this country, ar
ranged for the shipment of steel mill to
strengthen Tito economically, and worked
out an agreement granting an Export-1m-
port Bank loan to the Belgrade govern
ment.
All this speaks pretty much for itself.
Now that the Kremlin is out to cut his
throat, it is of prime Importance to Tito
to cultivate good relations with the West
ern world. BY the same token, it is matter
of self-interest to the United States and
like-minded nations to do everything pos
sible to bolster him. The stakes involved
are clear enough: The longer he endures,
the less chance there will be of Yugoslavia's
being dragged back behind the Iron Cur
tain; it is in a strategically crucial area,
and its continuing independence can do
much to frustrate Russian plans for the
domination OF Europe.