Marshal Stalin's Requirements
Marshal Stalin's reply to the questions addressed to him by The Times Correspondent in Moscow does not bring us much nearer to a solution of the Polish problem, though it does throw some light on his interpretation of the Yalta agreement and perhaps also on the motives which Us behind his policy. To the last a key may be found in his insistence on a Government in Poland that will "carry out a Policy of friendship with the Soviet Union and not a policy of a cordon saniteirs" directed against it. Today no question of a cordon sanitaire could ads., and though it Is intelligible that Russia should &Woo to have no Government In Poland that would be hostile to her, there is no better way of ensuring hostility than to attempt to dictate the form or the personnel of a Polish Government. Marshal Stalin's interpretation of the Yalta agreement is not unreasonable, though the British and American reading of it is rather different ; but he says nothing about the agreement to consult with other Polish leaders in Poland and London except to deny that the sixteen arrested Poles were the leaders in question, though some of them had been nominated by the Western Powers. The statement that the pro- cedure he demands is analogous with that adopted for Yugoslavia is quite erroneous, for in the latter case full negotiations were entered into with the London Government and the personnel of the Yugo- slav Administration was arrived at by agreement. But in so far as Marshal Stalin's statement reveals his aims it may be helpful. The only possibility of reaching agreement is to understand what he is aiming at in Poland, and to ascertain if there is any common approach which will remove his suspicions.
