Aprit 3.
The worldwide reaction to M. Molotov's speech before the Supreme Council of the Soviet last Friday is of the greatest possible importance, for the attention which is being paid to what he said completely surpasses any that has been given to Herr Hitler's. Iueubrations since the outbreak of war. The interest it has eve ated may be due to a num~ er of causes, Obviously the first is that Soviet Russia, having brought its Finnish adventure to ain end at no small cost (0 itself, hag reaped the immediate advantages of the Soviet-German agreement of August last, and has reassumed its position of neutrality; the second is that M. Molotov's speech reveals the fact that the German attempt to bring about a closer tripartite understanding between Italy, Russia and Germany has completely failed, and the third that the Hitlerian project for the carving up of the Balkans Into three spheres of influence by those three Powers has met with the same te, German diplomacy has failed to achieve one of Herr Hitler's major ambitions, und in falling has suffered a defeat of the first magnitude, All this need not_neces~ sunly mean that Moscow will definitely retreat from the position it adopted when it entered into the august pact with Berlin, but in the words of the Italian journal "La Stampa" "Stalin has recovered his neutral position as soon as it was possible, and is now waiting for the progressive efforts of! the belligerents to offer him the most favour-fable chance to realize the imperialist intentions and programmes of old Russia and to try eventually to introduce Bolshevism to Europe and Asia." In other words M. Stalin has retraced his stops, having obtained all he wants at present in the Baltic, and has taken up a position from which he expects to be able to snatch any profit from the further progress of the war between the Allies and Germany. It is a purely oppor= tunist policy on the part of the Soviet leader, and augurs no better for Germany than it may for the Allies. The latler need have no very great concern as to the next steps the Soviet may take, for it is obvious that they have already made their dispositions to meet any threat Russia may offer irrespective of where it may be presented.
This adoption of opportunist neutrality is all of a piece with the whole of the Soviet policy. The resistance of the Finns put an end to the Soviet's idea that by fishing quietly in troubled waters it could hope to enrich itself with spoils at little cost to itself, and the knowledge that the Allies are better prepared to offer a successful resistance to any Soviet schemes than was gallant Finland should have the effect of restraining M. Stalin's appetite. The Allies are in a position to offer a check to any schemes which Russia may have in the Balkans or the Near or Middle East, and with the support which is already in being for Turkey it can confidently expected that M. Stalin will be obliged to walt until more propitious times come round—if ever they do,—before embarking upon any further schemes for territorial aggrandisement, or for the expansion of the Bolshevik' revolution. The whole situation adds point to the comment which was made in this column a few days ago relative to the necessity of having a strong Japan in the Far Bast. The arrangements which the Allies have made in. the Near East, together with a strong Japan in Asia are the best guarantees for the future inaction of the Soviet Government. The Allies are not to be expected to attack Rus-"No war with that country will happen unless she takes the offensive, but the Allies will never lose sight of the fact that the ambitions which Bolshevik Russia holds just fas much as it did in imperial days may sooner or later lead to a clash.
The situation thus created by M, Molotov speech necessitates a review of the whole position, it is clear that Herr Hitler can no Tonger hold up Soviet Russia as a bogey with which to frighten the Allies. It is even clearer that the Kremlin is not prepared to throw itself into Germany's arms, while whatever assistance Germany hopes to obtain' from Russia will undoubtedly have to be paid for and that handsomely. It is extremely.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.