London, Feb. 9.
The belief, propagated in some quarters, that Great Britain has developed a sudden wish to speed up ihe holding of the long-planned conversations between herself and Italy, is unfounded, Reuter's Diplomatic Correspondent writes to-day.
In the British view, he says, it is essential to clear up the Spanish question before the general negotiations can be initiated At present there are signs that an agreement on the withdrawal of volunteers is in sight but there are still points of difference over the procedure. These points mainly relate to the percentage of withdrawals necessary for the Non-Intervention Committee to consider it substantial enough to warrant the granting of belligerent rights.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.