Russia and the Poles
The new developments in the Russo-Polish situation raise in a rather disturbing form the whole question of Allied unity. That Britain and the United States should be recognising one Polish Government, and that Russia should first of all withdraw her recog- nition from that Government on what no one could regard as adequate grounds, and then recognise a rival Government, creates an almost impossible situation. The chronological sequence of the events of the past week is significant. It has been known for some time that the Polish Prime Minister, M. Mikolajczyk, was ready to go to Moscow at any moment to discuss the whole question of Russo- Polish relations with Marshal Stalin, and last Saturday a statement to that effect appeared in The Times. On Sunday there was broad- cast from- Moscow the announcement of the formation of a body called the Polish Committee of National Liberation, ten of whose fifteen members were taken from the rather ambiguous Union of Polish Patriots which the Russian Government has ostentatiously patronised for some time. On Tuesday the Russian Foreign Office announced that, the Russian armies being now in process of liberating Polish territory, the Soviet Government had decided to conclude with the two-days-old Committee of National Liberation " an agree- ment regarding relations between the Soviet Command and the Polish Administration." Such a statement begs many questions. What is meant by " the Polish Administration " can only be conjectured, for there is no reason to think that the new Committee, as obscure in personnel as in origin, commands any popular support in Poland whatsoever. But what is clear is that the Soviet Government is
completely ignoring the Polish Government in London, whose troops are fighting effectively on the Italian front, and which the British and American Governments recognise and have no thought of ceas- ing to recognise. The one hope of a satisfactory solution would seem to lie in a frank personal discussion between M. Mikolajczyk, a demo- crat and a very sensible man, and Marshal Stalin. With reasonable- ness on both sides an agreement could still be reached.
