Quandary in Turkey
The American reaction to the Russian Note on the future regime of the Straits was not unexpected. Neither America nor Britain can passively agree te., terms which imply the establishment of Soviet bases on Turkish territory and the virtual surrender of Turkey's rights of sovereignty. It would be a mistake to imagine, however, that Russian pressure in this part of the world will quickly be relaxed or that she will readily agree to accepting an international regime for an area that she now obviously regards as lying exclusively within her sphere of influence. Nor should her desire to enforce, according to her lights, a settlement of this question be divorced from her interest in two other regions lying to east and west of Turkey—Trans-Caucasia and Greek Macedonia. With reference to the former, recent Soviet publicity for the " return" by Turkey of Kars and Ardahan was probably in the nature of flying a kite, for there is no valid justification for the claim. In the case of Macedonia, it is well at this stage to reserve judgement of the confused reports which reach this country of Communist-sponsored E.A..M. activities bent, apparently, on pro- voicing on a short-term view the maximum amount of trouble for the Greek Government, with the ultimate intention of establishing a unified Communist-Slav bloc in the Balkans. Not for the first time in her history, Turkey finds herself subjected to Russian pres- sures, which in this case are direct and explicit in the case of the Straits and indirect and implicit in the whole of Russian policy in the Balkans.
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