12 MAY 1939, Page 2

The Serb-Croat Talks A breakdown in the Serb-Croat negotiations has

fortu- nately been avoided, largely owing to the statesmanlike attitude adopted both by the Croat leader, Dr. Matchek, and the Regent, Prince Paul, who has made a personal appeal to the Croats. On Monday the Croat National Assembly at Zagreb passed a resolution expressing ccmplete confidence in Dr. Matchek and repeating their demand for autonomy ; but no reference was made to the agreement reached on April 27th by Dr. Matchek and the Yugoslav Prime Minister, M. Tsvetkovitch. It is clearly Dr. Matchek's intention to insist on the ratification of this agreement ; nevertheless he has very obviously shown his willingness to take part in further discussions, and has been met halfway by the Government, which has declared that the agreement has been accepted in principle. The negotiations are therefore expected to con- tinue, though they will not be resumed until Prince Paul has returned from his visit to Italy. No doubt his attitude will largely depend on the results of his talks in Rome, and will be influenced also by the necessity to strengthen his, and Yugoslavia's, position before the further visit to Berlin which he is expected to make next month.

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