Evening star., 1953-11-07
Sef-InfIicted Soviet Setback

BY Slammlng the door against the western
proposal for an early foreign ministers con-
ference on Germany and Austria, the men of
the Kremlin have accomplished at least one
thing that must leave them bit unhappy as
they celebrate the 36th anniversary of the
Bolshevik Revolution: They have inflicted
propaganda setback on themselves by making
Enthusiastically clear that 1t is they-not the
French or the British or the Americans-who
are unwilling to negotiate for an abatement of
the cold war;
Thus, in displaying this unwillingneSs in
way that can be neither disguised nor mini
mized Premier Malenkov and his top colleagues
have in effect by their own action, vitiated
whatever gains they may have made with their
post-Stalin peace offensive" That is to say,
they have taken all the steam out of the drive
in which they have resorted to soft talk and
minor conciliatory moves in an effort to befuddle
public opinion in the free world, encourage the
growth of "neutralism' in Western Europe and
create dissension and division between the
United States and its allies, particularly France
and Britain.
Certainly, as result of their latest and
most emphatic rejection of the Vests repeated
offer to negotiate with them, RusSiaS leaders
can hardly hope to persuade any intelligent
adult on this side of the Iron Curtain that they
have the slightest desire to ease international
tension by seeking agreement on vital issues
like Germany. Nor can they expect to swell
the ranks of those who have been taken in by
the "neutraliSt" doctrine in free Europe. On
the contrary, now that they have reverted to
Stalinist policy and been strikingly obvious in
torpedoing the proposal for foreign ministers
meeting, that doctrine is likely to lose much of
its appeal and more than a few of its recent
all nd
men of the Kremlin, by their completely mega
tive action, have undercut their own wedge
driving campaign among the allies and bolstered
the unity of France, Britain and the United
States.
Plain evidence of this can be found in the
nature of the Western Big Three's reaction to
Moscows nay-saying new note. Britain, for
example, although still affirming desire to
meet with the Russians at any level has en-
phasized through Foreign Secretary Eden that
the rejection of the proposed foreign min
isterS' conference has left the allies with no
choice but to build up their armed strength as
fast and as thoroughly as possible Official
France is Of the same view, and so also, OF
course, is our own country. In short, the Soviet
Unions negativiSm has put fresh impetus
behind the interallied effort to achieve security
through such Kremlin-condemned enterprises
as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and
the projected European Defense Community.
- So, everything considered, the men Of the
Kremlin-in terms of world opinion, neutral
ism" and Western unity-have done no good for
themselves in fatty turning down the Anglo
French American invitation. Since they are
cunning in international affairs, they must have
anticipated that their decision would thus react
against them, but they have nevertheless gone
through with it. Why? The answer may we'll
be that because of some internal weakness, or
perhaps because their East German position is
shaky, they have chosen to take propaganda
licking rather than accept the challenge and
risks of negotiating in good faith for genuine
settlements.