Treaty

After more than six months of negotiation a political-commercial treaty was concluded last week by Soviet Russia and Persia. Signature impended.

Terms. The figure of exports and imports was fixed at 25,000,000 rubles each, the idea being that each country may import from the other no more than it exports, thus equalizing the balance of trade.

The Persians, however, may send an unlimited amount of goods at privileged rates of tariff and transport, to the fairs of Nizhniy-Novgorod and Baku, provided that they buy not less than 85% in Russian goods at the fairs. The balance may be recovered by Persia in foreign currencies at official rates.

All Persian goods, except wool, cotton, herbs, etc., which Russia needs, may be shipped tariff-free through Soviet territory to Europe on payment of official freight rates.

Each party received the right to cross the frontier in pursuit of bandits, whose depredations have recently caused considerable friction between the two countries. Bandits were defined as "hostile raiders of any category."

Minor alterations of the Russo-Persian frontier were fixed.

Significance. About a year ago Russia made a drastic cut in her imports from Persia, which were then about 60,000,000 rubles annually, while Soviet exports amounted to only 20,000,000 rubles. Persia then boycotted Russian goods, threatened to build a railway from the Caspian Sea in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south, in order to "make them independent of the Russian market." Both sides suffered in the economic conflict and AH Ghuli Khan, one-time Ambassador at Moscow, was sent early in the year to negotiate the above treaty.

The accord now reached represents a compromise obviously unsatisfactory to the Persians, who sought to raise the trade limit to 35,000,000 rubles. The threat^ of the railway is primarily inspired by British influence, which aims at strengthening Persia as a buffer state between India and Russia.

The agreement concerning the so-called bandit raids, which have frequently developed into semipolitical feuds, greatly advantages Russia. Through it the Russians will be able to cross the frontier, probably only to a limited extent, to check any counter-revolutionary movement that may be formed there; for it is believed in Moscow that the British are attempting to foster trouble in Persia against the Caucasus and Turkestan.