Interest--and Caution

The Russians last week fired their biggest gun yet in their new peace offensive. In a letter to President Truman, Russia's President Nikolai Shvernik proposed a five-power pact for disarmament and "for the strengthening of peace." Wrote Shvernik (a figurehead who rarely makes the front pages): "I take this occasion to request you to transmit to the American people my greetings and good wishes from the people of the Soviet Union . . ." He added pointedly: "A most important step must be the elimination of discrimination with regard to the Soviet Union on the part of the American authorities."

Along with the letter, Shvernik sent a resolution passed by the Supreme Soviet, in response to last month's resolution by the U.S. Congress which called on Russia to permit free exchange of opinion and assured the Russian people that the U.S. wants peace. The Supreme Soviet's answer, free of the usual anti-U.S. invective, somewhat plaintively listed alleged Russian grievances against the U.S., including Washington's moves to keep "agents of Soviet culture" out of the U.S. Said the documents: "The Soviet Union has no aggressive plans and does not threaten any country . . . The peoples of the Soviet Union are completely absorbed in executing the tasks of peaceful construction."

First noticeable fly in the peace ointment : the proposal does not specify which "five powers" are supposed to sign the peace pact, but probably intends Red China to be one of the five. Much of the message reads like all other Soviet "peace" proposals, but it also includes a muddily worded suggestion for prohibition of atomic weapons and "establishment of inspection over the implementation of such prohibition." In the past, the Russians have fought any proposal for inspection tooth & nail. There was enough bait in the proposal to make the West look up with interest--and caution.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.