Danube Diplomatic Disaster: Russia’s Boycott Threat Foils US Plans

LAKE SUCCESS, NY – In a shocking turn of events, a threatened Russian boycott has effectively blocked US efforts to convene a crucial conference in Vienna to discuss the free navigation of the Danube River. The United Nations Economic and Social Council, in its three-week session that closed late last night, was where the drama unfolded. US Delegate John G. Winant pushed through a resolution calling for the conference to take place before November 1, but Russia had other plans. Moscow served notice that it would not be attending, and two other Danubian states, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, followed suit, refusing to participate in the proposed conference.