Lloyd George, David, 1863-1945; Prime ministers -- Great Britain -- Biography
_Situation in Russia_
M. Clemenceau said they had met together to decide what could be done in
Russia under present circumstances.
President Wilson said that, in order to have something definite to
discuss, he wished to take advantage of a suggestion made by Mr. Lloyd
George, and to propose a modification of the British proposal. He wished
to suggest that the various organised groups in Russia should be asked
to send representatives, not to Paris, but to some other place, such as
Salonika, convenient of approach, there to meet such representatives as
might be appointed by the Allies, in order to see if they could draw up
a programme upon which agreement could be reached.
Mr. Lloyd George pointed out that the advantage of this would be that
they could be brought there from Russia through the Black Sea without
passing through other countries.
M. Sonnino said that some of the representatives of the various
Governments were already here in Paris, for example, M. Sazonoff. Why
should not these be heard?
President Wilson expressed the view that the various parties should not
be heard separately. It would be very desirable to get all these
representatives in one place, and still better, all in one room, in
order to obtain a close comparison of views.
Mr. Balfour said that a further objection to M. Sonnino’s plan was that
if M. Sazonoff was heard in Paris it would be difficult to hear the
others in Paris also, and M. Clemenceau objected strongly to having some
of these representatives in Paris.
M. Sonnino explained that all the Russian parties had some
representatives here, except the Soviets, whom they did not wish to
hear.
Mr. Lloyd George remarked that the Bolshevists were the very people some
of them wished to hear.
M. Sonnino continuing, said that they had heard M. Litvinoff’s
statements that morning.
(That was the statement that Litvinoff had made to Buckler, which the
President had read to the council of ten that morning.)
The Allies were now fighting against the Bolshevists, who were their
enemies, and therefore they were not obliged to hear them with the
others.
Mr. Balfour remarked that the essence of President Wilson’s proposal was
that the parties must all be heard at one and the same time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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