The Problem of the Straits Though the Montreux Conference on
the Dardanelles has been suspended to allow some of the delegates to attend the League Assembly at Geneva, informal con- versations can be carried on as well at one end of the lake as at the other, and there are signs that obstacles in the way of a satisfactory agreement have very largely been cleared away. Italy, of course, has been volun- tarily absent from Montreux, but the Turkish Foreign Minister has very properly observed, in a public state- ment, that the proceedings cannot be held up to suit Italy's convenience. There appears to be general assent to the proposition that any restrictions on free passage that may be approved shall be suspended in the case of vessels operating in fulfilment of obligations under the League Covenant, and no serious objection is taken by any delegation to Russia's claim to free egress from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Great Britain and other States desire in return a rather freer access to the Black Sea, and there are signs that an agreement on that point is near. It is as yet premature to assume than anything so unusual as the success of an inter- national conference is in prospect, but there are indica- tions all the same that it may be.
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