Istanbul, Oct, 20.
The signing at Ankara of the mutual assistance pact between Turkey and Great Britain and France, was performed without pomp er ceremony.
The pact was signed on behalf of Great Britain by Sir Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen, the British Ambassador to Turkey, (former British Ambassador to China) and Lt.-General A. P. Wavell, Commander of the British land forces in the Middle East, for France by M. R. L. D. Mas-sigh, French Ambassador in Ankara, and General Maxime Weygand, former French Chief-of-Staff, while Turkey was represented by Dr. Refik Saydam, the Premier, and Field-Marshal Fevsi Cakmak, Chief of the Turkish General Staff.
M. Sarajoglu arrived here today on board a Soviet warship. He is leaving tonight for Ankara, where he will meet General Wavell and General Weygand, former French Chief-of-Staff. General Wavell and General Maxime Weygand are expected to fly back to their posts tomorrow.
Toasting each other with cham-bagre, after the signature of the treaty, the representatives of the three countries stressed the importance of the new "entente cordiale" aiming at the restoration of justice and lasting peace in Europe.
The signing of the pact is considered in Turkey as interpreting the nation's feeling regarding the aims of peace-loving democracies, It is declared that.the treaty means the three Powers will work together in defending smaller nations from the expansionism of some Powers, particularly in the Balkans and the Near East.
Newspapers unite in stressing the point that though Soviet-Turkish conversations at Moscow failed, this did not impair the twenty-year-old friendship between the two countries.
Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.