THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS

Meanwhile the Central Powers were responding to the Russian proposals for peace negotiations with poorly concealed avidity. On November 30, 1917, Czernin, the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, replied to the Russian proposals as follows:

"The guiding principles announced by the Russian Government for negotiations for an armistice and a peace treaty, counterproposals to which are awaited by the Russian Government, are, in the opinion of the Austro-Hungarian Government, a suitable basis for entering upon these negotiations. The Austro-Hungarian Government therefore declares that it is ready to enter upon negotiations as proposed by the Russian Government regarding an immediate armistice and a general peace."

Thus Austria-Hungary was the first government to extend to the Lenine-Trotzky Cabinet official recognition.

The Allied representatives, in protesting against the peace negotiations which had already been initiated, had addressed themselves to the commander in chief at Mogilev. So much did Trotzky resent this attitude that he issued the following warning on November 30, 1917:

"The Government cannot permit Allied diplomatic and military agents to interfere in the internal affairs of our country and attempt to excite war. Further steps in this direction will result in the gravest complications, responsibility for which the Government now disclaims."

Nevertheless, Trotzky did not confine his attacks to Russia's allies. On the same day, while addressing the Soviet meeting, he made some extended remarks regarding the impending negotiations.

"We shall be on our guard in the negotiations," he said, "and will not permit distortion of those principles of universal peace for which the Russian revolution is fighting. We shall allow no evasions and will make most categorical demands, both to our allies and to our enemies.... In no case shall we allow a wrong interpretation of our principles for a general peace. We shall confront our enemies with questions which will admit of no ambiguous answers. Every word spoken by us or by them will be written down and sent by wireless to all nations, who will be the judges of our negotiations. Under the influence of the working classes the German and Austrian Governments have agreed to place themselves in the dock. Be assured, comrades, that the prosecuting attorney, in the persons of the Russian revolutionary delegation, will speak with thunderous accusation against the diplomacy of all imperialists. It is all the same to us how the Allied and enemy imperialists treat us. We will carry on our independent class policy whatever they do.... Our Allies and our enemies must learn once for all that the Czars, the Kerenskys and the Miliukovs have passed...."

On December 2, 1917, as agreed, the Russian peace delegates again crossed the lines and were escorted to Brest-Litovsk by the Germans, where the first session of the conference was opened. Three days later the Russian official version of the conference was issued from Petrograd:

"The conference opened in the presence of the representatives of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria. Field Marshal von Hindenburg and Field Marshal Hoetzendorf charged Prince Leopold of Bavaria with the negotiations, and he in his turn nominated his chief of staff, General Hoffmann. Other delegates received similar authority from their highest commander in chief. The enemy declaration was exclusively military.

"Our delegates opened the conference with a declaration of our peace aims, in view of which an armistice was proposed. The enemy delegates replied that that was a question to be solved by the politicians. They said they were soldiers, having powers only to negotiate conditions of an armistice, and could add nothing to the declaration of Foreign Ministers Czernin and Von KÜhlmann.

"Our delegates, taking note of this evasive declaration, proposed that they should immediately address all the countries involved in the war, including Germany and her allies, and all States not represented at the conference, with a proposal to take part in drawing up the terms of an armistice on all fronts.

"The enemy delegates again replied evasively that they did not possess such powers. Our delegation then proposed that they ask their governments for such authority. This proposal was accepted, but no reply had been communicated to the Russian delegation up to 2 o'clock, December 5, 1917.

"Our representatives submitted a project for an armistice on all fronts elaborated by our military experts. The principal points of this project were: first, an interdiction against sending forces on our fronts to the fronts of our allies, and, second, the retirement of German detachments from the islands around Moon Sound.

"The enemy delegation submitted a project for an armistice on the front from the Baltic to the Black Sea. This project is now being examined by our military experts. Negotiations will be continued to-morrow morning.

"The enemy delegation declared that our conditions for an armistice were unacceptable, and expressed the opinion that such demands should be addressed only to a conquered country."

On December 6, 1917, a slightly different version of the conference was issued by the German Government, as follows:

"Yesterday the authorized representatives of the chief army administrations of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria concluded in writing with the authorized representatives of the Russian chief army administration a suspension of hostilities for ten days for the whole of the mutual fronts. The beginning is fixed for Friday noon. The ten days' period will be utilized for bringing to a conclusion negotiations for an armistice. For the purpose of reporting verbally regarding the present results, a portion of the members of the Russian deputation has returned home. The sittings of the commission continue."

On this same day, December 6, 1917, Trotzky sent to all the Allied embassies in Petrograd a note intimating that the armistice negotiations with the Central Powers and the initiative of the Russian delegation had been suspended for seven days for the purpose of providing opportunity for informing the peoples and the governments of the Entente nations of the existence and the details of such negotiations and their tendency. The note added that the armistice would be signed only on condition that the Central Powers agreed not to transfer troops from the front affected by the armistice to the other fronts where fighting was still in progress, and that the German troops evacuated the islands around Moon Sound. The note concluded with:

"The period of delay thus given, even in the existing disturbed condition of international communication, is amply sufficient to afford the Allied Governments opportunity to define their attitude toward the peace negotiations—that is, their willingness or refusal to participate in negotiations for an armistice and peace. In case of refusal they must declare clearly and definitely before all mankind the aims for which the peoples of Europe may be called to shed their blood during the fourth year of the war."

To this communication the Allied Governments made no official reply.