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Show Britain May 'U To Obtain Rtuss Pact England ' Studies Concessions Designed to Draw Soviet Into Anti-Axis Accord By FREDERICK KCH LONDON, May 18 (UP) An unexpected meeting of the British Brit-ish cabinet and foreign affairs committee was understood to have considered concessions designed to bring soviet Russia into the European nonaggression front Although th full cabinet of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain Chamber-lain will not have opporunity to giv approval until Wednesday morning, it was said in authoritative authorita-tive circles that Britain apparently was beginning to "unbend slightly" in order to get together with the Moscow government. Previously the soviet hsd lndlcst-ed lndlcst-ed impatience with the British dilatory dila-tory tactics by canceling the proposed pro-posed visit of their vice commissar of foreign affairs, Vladimir Potem-kin, Potem-kin, to Geneva to discuss the European Eu-ropean situation with the British and French foreign ministers. Franca also bad been seeking to speed an agreement through a compromise com-promise plan worked out by Premier Pre-mier Edouard Daladier and Foreign For-eign Minister Georges Bonnet The specific subject before the meeting of the csbinet foreign affairs af-fairs committee was a reply to Moscow' Mos-cow' not of Monday which failed to accept British suggestions for a limited - agreement under which Russia would aid Poland and Rumania Ru-mania If Britain and France aided them in a defensive war and if they asked aid of Moscow. Since the Soviets desired a more comprehensiv and solid alliance with Britain and France to thwart aggression generally in Europe, the negotiations were close to stalemate stale-mate when the committee met at the house of common t discuss the reply to Moscow. Foreign office experts already had prepared suggestions for the reply, which were understood to contain concessions to the Russian viewpoint If these are finally accepted, ac-cepted, it would mean that Britain will take the first step toward bringing the divergent viewpoints of the two governments into harmony. har-mony. Th full cabinet I expected to (Costlnueo on Pas Sour) Column One) ENGLAND READY FOR CONCESSION Coauaaee rna rata Om) ! act nroDeniy lavorably on tha re-I re-I ply tomorrow morning, after which ! it will ba eemt at ooca to Sir WU-I WU-I Item fieeds. tba ambaaaador at Moo-cow, Moo-cow, for delivery to Soviet Foraign ( Oommlaaar Molotov. , If thaaa davalopmanta Indicate an ! approach to solution of their differences, dif-ferences, Potemkln might yat ba ', aant to tba Laagua of Nations eoun-, eoun-, eil meeting at Ganava on May 32 to work out details. Ruaata had previouery notified tba laagua that Pot am kin would not attend. Viewed aa Warning Tha notification waa regarded aa a plain, if Indirect, warning to Great Britain not to delay negotiation! negotia-tion! to bring Russia into tha British-French "security front" Ivan Mais ley, Russian ambassador at London, will ba chief delegate. It waa said. Tha British government, after receiving a polite rejection of Its own counter-proposala on Russia's role In the security front, bad Intended to delay negotiations until Viscount Halifax, foreign secretary, went to Geneva and talked to Potemkln. Po-temkln. It waa believed here that If Cham- atedesooie geetnra before thla week and favorable to Russia, Potemkln might attend tba council meeting after all. Agreement Sought There ba would meat tha British and French foreign ministers and It bad been boped that an agreement would hava been effected to Include ' the powerful soviet army, with Its 2.500,000 men and Ita gigantio air force, in the aecurity front. Malslry, however, is a skilled negotiator ne-gotiator and will be able to handle Russia's and In Potemkin's absence. The chief point of the Russian notification no-tification waa understood to be a aign of Ita displeasure at alleged British delay in negotiations, and a warning that It did not intend to be rushed Into any patchwork agreement at Geneva. Tba council had been postponed I for a weak until next Monday so that Potemkln could attend. Conference Scheduled Edouard Daladier and Georges Bonnet, the French premier and foreign for-eign secretary, Intend to confer wtth Halifax at Paris Saturday In aa effort to find a compromise between British and Russian ideas. These talks will eontlnua at Geneva, It had been hoped that with Po-j Po-j tsmkin there a firm agreement j could be reached. I The house of commons Is to hold a debate oa foreign affairs Friday, with Russia aa the main topio for I dlecnsalnn. It waa understood that not only liberala and labor party mea but a substantial number ef conservatives, government support-era. support-era. Intended to demand that tha government act at onoe te get Russia Rus-sia Into the BriUsh-Frnch defensive de-fensive bloc. Would Qese Gap Official Information from both British and Russian sources confirmed con-firmed that Ruasls's answer to British Brit-ish eounter-propoea Is, delivered to j the foraign office here yesterday, waa a polite rejeetloa which at the same time left the way opaa tot discussion. ! Russia insisted en Its own pro-I pro-I poaal for a Brltlsh-French-Rusalan i security pact te defend eastern European countries between the Baltic and Black seas. It was made clear that Russia regards a utterly unsatisfactory any arrangement which would leave , , Britain free of any oBligation to i intervene if Germany attacked Rus- ala through the unguaranteed eoun-trlee eoun-trlee ef Lithuania, Latvia, Esthonia aad Finland. Russia wants this 1 cap closed. |