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who has established most excellent relations with General Tito.
As the House will have seen from the newspapers today, the Soviet
government have decided also to send a military mission to the
Partisan Commander-in-Chief. I want to make it quite plain where
we stand in this. Mr. Molotov was good enough to discuss this
project with me, both when I was in Moscow sad more recently
in Teheran. He said, "You have a mission with them, and
we think of sending a mission, too." We, of course, endorsed
this proposal --- the Prime Minister and I Mr. Molotov and I
agreed that our two missions shall work together in the closest
collaboration when the Soviet mission reaches the country. That
is the position.
Now for another development since I left Teheran. As the House
is aware, a supreme legislative committee and the executive national
committee of liberation have recently been set up under the auspices
of the Commander-in-Chief of the Partisan forces. So far as I
am aware, this national committee does not claim authority outside
the borders of the area in which it operates. It has certainly
not claimed shy form of recognition from His Majesty's government.
As I understand the position and as it has been reported to me
by our officers, the Partisans emphasize the provisional nature
of this administration, and they hold that it is for the Yugoslav
people, as soon as their country is liberated, freely to choose
the form of government they prefer. If that is the position,
this, too, is the view of His Majesty's government. It is also,
as I know, because he has told us so, the desire of King Peter
himself and the policy of His government (Hon. Members: "Oh".)
They have publicly declared it as their policy. We must be fair
in all this. A public statement was made by the government that
the moment the war was over they would lay doom their portfolios
and the country would choose what government they preferr
Mr. A Be %van (Ebbw Vale): Do the radio pronouncements of the
Yugoslav government from Cairo confirm that statement?
Mr. Eden: Certainly, Sir. I am not trying to say that the
government agree on all points with the Partisans. Clearly that
is not so. II am trying to make a fair approach to this very
difficult question and what I am saying is that all including
the government in Cairo, have declared that the moment their
country is