ARTICLE III The high contracting parties will make every effort in common to lead their peoples toward better understanding of the principles which form the basis of their common civilization and to promote cultural exchanges by conventions between themselves or by other means. ARTICLE IV If any of the high contracting parties should be the object of an armed attack in Europe, the other high contracting parties will, in accordance with the provisions of Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, afford the party so attacked all military and other aid and assistance in their power. ARTICLE V All measures taken as a result of the preceding article shall be immediately reported to the Security Council. They shall be terminated as soon as the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security. The present treaty does not prejudice in any way the obligations of the high contracting parties under the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. It shall not be interpreted as affecting in any way the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security. ARTICLE VI The high contracting parties declare, each so far as he is concerned, that none of the international engagements now in force between him and any other high contracting party or any third state is in conflict with the provisions of the present treaty. None of the high contracting parties will conclude any alliance or participate in any coalition directed against any other of the high contracting parties. ARTICLE VII For the purpose of consulting together on all questions dealt with in the present treaty, the high contracting parties will create a consultative council which shall be so organized as to be able to exercise its functions continuously. The Council shall meet at such times as it shall deem fit. At the request of any of the high contracting parties, the Council shall be immediately convened in order to permit the high contracting parties to consult with regard to any situation which may constitute a threat to peace, in whatever area this threat should arise, with regard to the attitude to be adopted and the steps to be taken in the case of a renewal by Germany of an aggressive policy, or with regard to any situation constituting a danger to economic stability. ARTICLE VIII In pursuance of their determination to settle disputes only by peaceful means, the high contracting parties will apply to disputes between themselves the following provisions: The high contracting parties will, while the present treaty remains in force, settle all disputes falling within the scope of Article 36, Paragraph 2, of the Statute of the International Court of Justice by referring them to the Court, subject only in the case of each of them to any reservation already made by that party when accepting this clause for compulsory jurisdiction to the extent that that party may maintain the reservation. In addition, the high contracting parties will submit to conciliation all disputes outside the scope of Article 36, Paragraph 2, of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. In the case of a mixed dispute involving both questions for which conciliation is appropriate and other questions for which judicial settlement is appropriate, any party to the dispute shall have the right to insist that the judicial settlement of the legal questions shall precede conciliation. The preceding provisions of this article in no way affect the application of relevant provisions or agreements prescribing some other method of pacific settlement. ARTICLE IX The high contracting parties may, by agreement, invite any other state to accede to the present treaty on conditions to be agreed between them and the state so invited. Any state so invited may become a party to the treaty by depositing an instrument of accession with the Belgian Government. The Belgian Government will inform each of the high contracting parties of the deposit of each instrument of accession. ARTICLE X The present treaty shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited as soon as possible with the Belgian Govern ment. It shall enter into force on the date of deposit of the last instrument of ratification and shall thereafter remain in force for fifty years. After the expiry of the period of fifty years, each of the high contracting parties shall have the right to cease to be a party thereto, provided that he shall have previously given one year's notice of denunciation to the Belgian Government. The Belgian Government shall inform the government of the other high contracting parties of the deposit of each instrument of ratification and of each notice of denunciation. In Witness Whereof the above mentioned plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty and have affixed thereto their seals. Done at Brussels this 17th day of March, 1948, in English and French, each text being equally authentic, in a single copy which shall remain deposited in the archives of the Belgian Government and of which certified copies shall be transmitted by that Government to each of the other signatories. [Signatures omitted.] 115. THE SOVIET ALLIANCE SYSTEM, 1942-1948 (EXCERPT)1 I. GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE ALLIANCE SYSTEM While the Soviet Government has been prolific in its criticisms of any attempt on the part of the United States, Great Britain, and western European powers concerning the construction of a so-called "western European bloc," and has recently denounced the agreement signed on March 18 by Great Britain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, the Soviet Union itself has built up a very com plete system of alliances in eastern Europe. The Soviet alliances today include the following: 1. Anglo-Soviet (May 26, 1942) 2. Soviet-Czechoslovak (December 12, 1943) 3. Franco-Soviet (December 10, 1944) 4. Soviet-Yugoslav (April 11, 1945) Moreover, it is altogether probable that the Soviet Union will soon sign a treaty of similar import with Albania. In addition to the treaties which the Soviet Government has signed with each of the above-named states, alliances have also been signed by a very large number of states within the region of eastern Europe as follows: 1. Yugoslav-Polish (March 18, 1946) 2. Yugoslav-Czechoslovak (May 9, 1946) The present-day development of the Soviet alliance system in eastern Europe calls to mind the evolution of the Soviet system during the interwar period. The Soviet Government, for example, in the summer of 1932, signed nonaggression pacts with Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Finland, and a similar agreement with France on November 29, 1932. On July 3, 1933, nonaggression pacts with specific definitions of aggression were signed with Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Rumania, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan and on July 4 with Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Rumania as members of the Little Entente. On April 4, 1934, the pacts with Poland and the Baltic states were extended into ten-year agreements. On May 2, 1935, in the midst of the abortive attempts to achieve an eastern Locarno, the Soviet Union signed a treaty of mutual assistance with France, followed two weeks later Documents and State Papers. Vol. 1, No. 4, July 1948, pp. 219–227. (May 16, 1935) by another mutual-assistance pact with Czechoslovakia. Both these latter agreements were within the framework of the Covenant of the League of Nations which the Soviet Union entered on September 18, 1934, and were designed specifically for the purpose of meeting German aggression. * SUMMARY Since 1943 the Soviet Union, step by step, has been building a thoroughgoing alliance system within eastern Europe, 17 treaties having been concluded within this region, either between the Soviet Union and the various states or among these states themselves, between December 12, 1943, and March 18, 1948. Negotiations between the Soviet Union and Finland for a treaty of similar import were initiated on February 22, 1948, and it was not unlikely that similar treaties would be concluded with and between other states of the region as well. A close network of alliances in eastern Europe was thus established by the Soviet Union. In general, all these treaties were along identical patterns, and all stressed the following principles: 1. An agreement for close collaboration between the signators. 2. An agreement to consult on all important international questions of mutual concern. 3. An agreement to collaborate against any renewed aggression on the part of Germany or any attack on the part of any third state threatening the independence or territorial integrity of the signators. 4. An agreement on the part of the signators not to conclude any alliances or participate in any coalition directed against the other signators. 5. An agreement mutually to strengthen the political ties by appropriate treaties as to economic, cultural, and other matters. 6. An agreement to implement the treaty in the spirit of the United Nations Charter. 7. The treaties were all concluded for a period of 20 years from the date of signature. The Soviet-Finnish treaty, which was finally signed on April 6, 1948, differs textually in some respects from the other Soviet treaties recently concluded, although its ultimate effect is probably identical with the others. The Soviet-Finnish treaty thus takes into account "Finland's aspiration to stand aside from contradictions of interests of the Great Powers." According to article 1 Finland promises to fight against aggression and to defend its territory on land, sea, and in the air, "acting within her boundaries in accordance with her obligations under the present Treaty, with the assistance in case of need of the Soviet Union or jointly with the latter." In this case, the Soviet Union will give Finland the necessary assistance, in accordance with a "mutual agreement" to be reached between the parties. The two parties mutually pledge to consult concerning the existence of a military attack, provided in article 1. They also confirm their intention to participate in the most frank manner in all enterprises aimed at upholding international peace and security in conformity "with the principles" of the United Nations. They promise not to conclude any alliance or to participate in any coalition aimed at the other. Moreover, article 6 explicitly obligates the signatories to respect the sovereignty and independence of the signatories and not to interfere in their domestic affairs." The treaty is to be implemented in accord with "the principles of the United Nations," is to endure for 10-rather than 20 years, and is renewable for 5-year periods. In its note to the Soviet Government of May 4, 1948, the United States made brief reference to the system of alliances which the Soviet Government had been constructing in eastern Europe. The Soviet Government replied on May 9, indicating the general improvement in its relations with its neighbors and noting that the improvement in political relations had "found expression through the conclusion of treaties of friendship and mutual assistance between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and these countries which are directed exclusively against the repetition of aggression on the part of Germany and its possible allies and which *** do not include any secret protocols." On the other hand, the Soviet note called attention to the development of the Inter-American system and the western European alliance of March 1948, as well as to the development of bases on the part of the United States, as an example of aggressive tendencies, in sharp contrast to its own self-professed policy of peace. SECOND PHASE: 1949-1956 Developments in Western Europe Developments in Western Germany and Austria 116. DIRECTIVE ON THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MILITARY SECURITY BOARD FOR THE WESTERN ZONES OF GERMANY ISSUED BY THE UNITED STATES, THE UNITED KINGDOM AND FRANCE, JANUARY 17, 1949 (EXCERPT) 1 1 PART I-TERMS OF REFERENCE 1. In accordance with the terms of the London Agreement, a Military Security Board for the Western Zones of Germany will be set up by the Military Governors in order to ensure the maintenance of disarmament and demilitarization in the interests of security. 2. The Board's responsibilities will cover the whole field of disarmament and demilitarization, taking into consideration the laws and directives which have been agreed already on a quadripartite basis. In particular the Board will advise the Military Governors on the maintenance and enforcement of disarmament and demilitarization restrictions. It will carry out the appropriate inspections and will recommend to the Military Governors measures necessary to: (a) prevent the revival of military or para-military organizations and of the militaristic spirit; (b) ensure that there shall be no manufacture or import of any arms, war materials or any other materials or equipment which are or may be prohibited; (c) prevent the infringement by Germans of restrictions in respect of certain industries; (d) ensure that any military buildings, structures, laboratories, and all shipyards, or factories capable of producing armaments which may be retained are used for peaceful purposes only; Department of State, Bulletin, XX, p. 195. |