Chapter 1311 – Political Assets

It doesn’t seem like siding with the Soviet Union in favor of India is quite what the special relationship between Britain and the United States can do, but there is a natural rationale for doing so.

Because Pakistan’s backing was the United States, could Britain join the United States in supporting Pakistan? If this choice is made, Britain’s influence will only be slowly replaced by the United States.

In fact, it is very simple, the United States is a strengthened version of the United Kingdom, whether it is the policy direction, military arrangement or all aspects of the same. The United States is good at what Britain is good at and even better.

Now India and Pakistan have become independent under the premise of the United Kingdom and can not be like in the Middle East does not withdraw the garrison, against the overwhelming economic strength of the United States, it is inevitable that can not stand with the Americans.

Supporting Pakistan will offend India, the US may not care if it offends India, and Britain does not have such a large plate as the US to offset the losses.

Informing Washington of the attitude of the Stockholm Conference was also a way of showing that Britain had not made some secret agreement with the Soviet Union, but had made its choice solely out of national interest.

Although Pakistan can be used as a counterweight to India’s pawns, but also to be clear that Pakistan is not the strength of the front to defeat India, in the U.S. to deal with the Vietnam War at the moment, occupying a few hundred square kilometers of land, resulting in India has been holding a grudge, the same is not in line with U.S. interests, such as the end of the war, the U.S. can still help Pakistan? Even if it still can, it will only consume the energy on the Vietnam issue.

Persuade the United States to abandon Pakistan, cut off Pakistan’s backing once successful, Alan Wilson has reason to believe that the withdrawal agreement is not far away.

Rab Butler immediately went to the Indian representative to talk about the fact that for once Britain stood firmly on India’s side, looking forward to maintaining traditional relations with this jewel of the British Empire.

“Mother, are you socializing these days?” Gustave had this question as soon as he came home and saw Greta Garbo looking in the mirror, “It’s rare to see out all the time, even dyed my hair.”

“Study hard and don’t concern yourself with things you can’t fix.” Greta Garbo looked back at her son with a I advise you to mind your own business expression on her face, then took out her mink coat and put it on, “You’re a lot more annoying than your father, obviously both male, why can’t you think more.”

What does this have to do with being all male? Gustav opened his mouth and eventually shut it, if it wasn’t for the fact that his mother had said categorically that he was biological, he would have wondered if he was adopted.

But even if that was the case, he couldn’t hear half of the news of his biological father from his mother, he only knew that there was one, but he couldn’t meet him.

“Mother, be safe.” Looking at Greta Garbo’s back, Gustave said breathlessly.

“Cook for yourself, you’re so old, learn to manage your own life.” Without looking back, Greta Garbo rushed at the good oldest child and casually coped with a couple sentences, followed by a heavy slamming of the door.

“But then again, aren’t you going to let your son know I exist.” Alan Wilson pondered for a moment, asking the lady on equal footing with his wife in a tone of solicitude, “If he wants, I can issue a letter of introduction to Oxford to study and learn the ropes, and the road ahead will be much better.”

“Not for a while, I can still take care of it.” Greta Garbo calmly declined, “The Royal Institute of Technology, no difficulty for Lovisa. I can do it through Erlander.”

“Oh, the Swedish Prime Minister, he’s been Prime Minister for like twenty years. Kind of a miracle in an electoral state.” Ellen Wilson said with a twist, “You’ve got nothing going on with him, do you, you two are just the same age, it’s not unlikely that this asshole has unrealistic ideas about you, I’m going to check him out.”

Before the words were finished, a hand lightly wrapped around the neck of the Supreme Authority and then pressed down without hesitation.

Somehow, Alan Wilson always felt that the young man who followed the Soviet Foreign Minister next to him seemed like he had met before, after a long time of recalling half a dozen times, his superb memory allowed Supreme Authority to realize that this was not the KGB officer that he had seen in the Lubyanka Square, and the Foreign Ministry were all legitimate spies, so this was not worth the surprise.

“He recognized me.” Alexeyev didn’t look directly at the Englishman across the room, but could feel the man flanked across the room sneaking glances at himself several times. The Supreme Authority’s memory wasn’t bad, and the Tsar’s son’s memory wasn’t fake; he was even younger and hadn’t seen a few Englishmen in total, so of course he remembered the familiar face across the room vividly.

“We also got the attitude of Washington, they also believe that the withdrawal of the two countries to restore the occupied land to its original state is the best result. Because the hundreds of square kilometers of land temporarily occupied, in the midst of long-lasting hostility, is not in the interests of the two countries.”

Rabo Butler, conveying the views of the American side, vaguely summarized the essence of this talk in terms of the interests of the two countries. It could be both the interests of India and Pakistan as well as those of Britain and the Soviet Union.

There is no doubt that Britain and the USSR still have a common interest in supporting India, and Gromeko nodded his head to express the same, “The world is in turmoil, and we can’t afford to have the mainstream of peace shaken in another place.”

“The world is in turmoil, doesn’t the Soviet Union still have a part to play?” Dixon muttered in a low voice to Alan Wilson, “And the Vietnam War had no Soviet Union in it?”

“That was between the US and the USSR, it had nothing to do with us.” Alan Wilson lowered his voice and replied, “We still can’t hide from Britain’s responsibility when it comes to South Asia.”

Do not say that India has not formally voted for the Soviet Union now, even if it is really voted, Britain can not give up India, thought of this Alan Wilson instructed, “John came to the news, the Arab world will not lift the oil embargo for the time being, after the end of this negotiation, wait until India is in difficult difficulty, you arrange for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to talk about the people and India, South Sudan’s oil India should be in need of The price is of course a little more expensive, but compared to the cost of transportation from the United States or the Soviet Union, it is still cost-effective.”

In the British point of view, what does it matter what the Vietnam War, the United States can not top that day, Malaya has the risk of being sandwiched between the North and South, in the consideration of the impact of the Vietnam War is not too late.

Britain can only in South Asia, try to pull India not to vote for the Soviet Union, if the vote for the Soviet Union is inevitable, but also try to preserve the interests of the United Kingdom.

In fact this is not easy, to think about the value of the existence of the Soviet Union itself, the Kingdom of Afghanistan has long been pro-Soviet, and now Daoud is no longer the Prime Minister, but the political power has not dissipated.

That is to say that the Soviet Union seems to be very far away from India, but in fact not so far away, in order to hold Pakistan’s considerations, India to try to more contact with the Soviet Union is the nail in the coffin.

Britain can stop it, this kind of geopolitical considerations based on the decision, Britain in fact, the way is not much, now can only choose to try to pull India, Britain after all, and the Soviet Union completely different system of the country, some of the Soviet Union is not good at the United Kingdom is good at it, you can also try to fight the Soviets in the Indian River.

I am afraid to run into the United States kind of, Britain is good at things that the United States are good at the country, then there is absolutely no fight, so Britain must support India. This the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary agreed.

What if the USSR took the approach of supporting the Kingdom of Afghanistan in overthrowing the Durand Line and joined India in partitioning and occupying Pakistan? Though this has not happened historically, it should be guarded against, and by pulling India’s strings, Britain has an interest in sabotaging such an attempt.

When Pakistan applied for membership in the United Nations, Afghanistan cast the only vote against it, and since this risk existed, naturally, in this meeting to force Pakistan to compromise, it was also used by Britain to persuade the U.S. The U.S. was clearly persuaded that once the Indo-Afghan kingdom really did have a common hostile attempt against Pakistan, the USSR had really reached the strategy of cutting Eurasia off in the middle, and this confrontation could not be continue.

The following month, the Stockholm Conference, which centered its negotiations around the question of a referendum in Kashmir to determine the future course of the country, saw Britain and the Soviet Union still in the same attitude. Blurring the issue, in effect, meant not supporting the Pakistani side’s claim and adopting an attitude of harboring the Indian claim.

In the process of reaching a consensus with the Soviet Union as soon as possible, Allen Wilson had to bring out a certain major power to stop the bullet by indicating that the Soviet Union’s so-called ally had a backlash and was backing Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

Instead the Soviet Union should have sided with India, as Britain did. Only then would it be in the common interest of Britain and the Soviet Union.

In dealing with Pakistan, Britain took a covertly intimidating attitude that Pakistan should not think that this oil embargo would help Pakistan gain much advantage. The British Royal Navy is fully capable of, by the same means of embargo, giving Pakistan a taste of the Indian treatment.

The US has already imposed an arms embargo on Pakistan before to bring about a truce, and if Pakistan doesn’t listen, the US will similarly side with the UK, which is campaigning for peace.

For the U.S., it is Washington’s quest that the instability in South Asia be quelled in a hurry, and it doesn’t matter how a peace agreement is reached. Things have come to a head and Pakistan has realized that nothing can be gained.

After more than a month of good offices, intimidation, and weighing the pros and cons, Indian Prime Minister Shastri and Pakistani President Ayub Khan both expressed a willingness to meet and came to Stockholm on a special plane.

It was at this time that the Stockholm Conference came to its real meat, and in the course of a single day, British Prime Minister Eden and Soviet Council of Ministers Chairman Kosygin announced, one after the other, a visit to Stockholm.

In this way, the Stockholm conference has become a meeting of the heads of the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, India, Pakistan, four countries gathered, the host Erlend naturally not willing to give up this opportunity to show his face, although he has been the prime minister for twenty years, but who would be too long, can be re-elected if he is still trying to fight for it, so important meeting itself is a political asset.