Chapter 1311 Political Assets

It seems that standing with the Soviet Union and supporting India is not something that the special relationship between Britain and the United States can achieve, but it certainly makes sense.

Because Pakistan is backed by the United States, can the United Kingdom 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 can be regarded as an enhanced version of the United Kingdom, whether it is policy orientation, military deployment or all aspects. The UK is good at everything the US is good at and maybe even better.

Now that both India and Pakistan have become independent, and the UK cannot withstand the overwhelming economic power of the United States without withdrawing its troops from the Middle East, it will inevitably not be able to stand with the Americans.

Supporting Pakistan will offend India, and the United States may not care if it offends India. The United Kingdom does not have as big a plate as the United States to offset losses.

Informing Washington of the attitude of the Stockholm Conference also showed that Britain did not reach some secret agreement with the Soviet Union, but made a choice based entirely on national interests.

Although Pakistan can be used as a pawn to check and balance India, it must be understood that Pakistan does not have the strength to defeat India head-on. At the moment when the United States is dealing with the Vietnam War, it occupies hundreds of square kilometers of land, causing India to always hold a grudge, which is also inconsistent with the United States. If war breaks out again, can the United States still help Pakistan? Even if it can still be done, it will only consume energy on the Vietnam issue.

Once the United States succeeds in persuading the United States to abandon Pakistan and cut off Pakistan's backstop, Alan Wilson has reason to believe that a troop withdrawal agreement will not be far away.

Rab Butler immediately went to the Indian representatives to talk about the fact that this time Britain was firmly on India's side and looked forward to maintaining traditional relations with this jewel of the British Empire.

"Mother, have you been socializing these days?" Gustave asked Greta Garbo as soon as he came home and saw her looking in the mirror. "It's rare that she stays out all the time and even dyes her hair."

"Study hard and don't worry about things you can't solve." Greta Garbo looked back at her son with an expression on her face that said, "I advise you to mind your own business." Then she took out her mink coat and put it on, "You're better than Your father is much more annoying, they are all men, why can’t you think more about it.”

What does this have to do with being both men? Gustave opened his mouth but finally kept silent. If his mother hadn't categorically said that he was her biological child, he would have doubted whether he had adopted him.

But even so, he couldn't hear any news about his biological father from his mother. He only knew that he existed, but he couldn't meet him.

"Mother, be safe." Looking at Greta Garbo's back, Gustave said weakly.

"You're old enough to cook for yourself. Learn to manage your own life." Greta Garbo said a few words casually to the grown-up without looking back, and then there was a heavy door slamming.

"But having said that, aren't you going to let your son know about my existence?" Alan Wilson thought for a moment and asked the lady of the same status as his wife in a soliciting tone, "If he wants, I can issue a letter of introduction. , go to Oxford University to study, the road ahead will be much easier."

"No need for the time being, I can still take care of it." Greta Garbo refused calmly, "Royal Institute of Technology, it is not difficult for Lovisa. I can do this through Erland."

"Oh, Prime Minister of Sweden, he seems to have been Prime Minister for twenty years. It is a miracle in a country with an electoral system." Alan Wilson changed the topic when he said this, "You have nothing to do with him, you two are the same age, maybe This bastard has unrealistic ideas about you and I’m going to check on him.”

Before he finished speaking, a hand wrapped around the supreme authority's neck with a familiarity, and then pressed it down without hesitation.

For some reason, Alan Wilson always felt that he had seen the young man next to the Soviet Foreign Minister. He recalled it for a long time. His super memory made the supreme authority suddenly realize that this was not the KGB officer he had seen in Lubyanka Square. What?

It is not surprising that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a legal spy.

"He recognized me." Alexeyev did not look directly at the British man opposite him, but he could feel that the man surrounded by him looked at him secretly several times. The Supreme Authority's memory was not bad, and the memory of the Tsar's son was not false either. He was younger and had never seen a few British people in total. Of course, he still remembered the familiar faces across from him.

"We have also received the attitude of Washington. They also believe that the best result is for the land occupied by the two countries to be evacuated and restored to its original state. Because the hundreds of square kilometers of land temporarily occupied are in long-term hostility, which is not in line with the two countries. Interests."

Rab Butler conveyed the views of the United States and vaguely summarized the essence of this meeting in terms of the interests of the two countries. It can be the interest of India and Pakistan, as well as the interest of Britain and the Soviet Union.

There is no doubt that Britain and the Soviet Union still have common interests in supporting India. Gromyko nodded and expressed the same idea, "The world is in turmoil now, and we cannot let another place shake the mainstream of peace. ”

"The world is in turmoil, doesn't the Soviet Union have a share of the credit?" Dixon whispered to Alan Wilson, "There was no trace of the Soviet Union in the Vietnam War?"

"That is a matter between the United States and the Soviet Union and has nothing to do with us." Alan Wilson replied in a low voice, "On the South Asian issue, we still cannot evade Britain's responsibilities."

Not to mention that India has not officially surrendered to the Soviet Union, even if it did, Britain could not give up on India. Thinking of this, Alan Wilson said, "John has come with news. The Arab world will not lift the oil embargo for the time being. At this time, After the negotiation is over, when India is in difficulty, you can arrange for people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to talk to India. India should need oil from South Sudan. The price is of course a little more expensive, but compared with the transportation cost from the United States or the Soviet Union, It’s still cost-effective.”

From the British perspective, regardless of the Vietnam War, if the United States could not withstand the day, Malaya was at risk of being attacked from the north and the south, and it was not too late to consider the impact of the Vietnam War.

Britain could only try its best to prevent India from defecting to the Soviet Union on the South Asian issue. If a defection to the Soviet Union was inevitable, it should also try its best to preserve British interests.

In fact, this is not easy. You have to think about the value of the existence of the Soviet Union itself. The Kingdom of Afghanistan has long been pro-Soviet. Although Daoud is no longer the prime minister, his political power has not dissipated.

In other words, the Soviet Union seems to be far away from India, but in fact it is not that far away. In order to contain Pakistan, it is certain that India will try to make more contacts with the Soviet Union.

Can the UK stop this decision based on geographical considerations? The UK actually doesn’t have many options. Now it can only choose to try to hold India back. After all, the UK is a country with a completely different system from the Soviet Union. There are things the Soviet Union is not good at. The British are good at it, and they can also try to fight with the Soviets in the Indus River.

If they are afraid of encountering a country like the United States, where the United States is good at everything the United Kingdom is good at, then there will be no way to fight, so the United Kingdom must support India. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary agree on this.

What if the Soviet Union adopts the method of supporting the Kingdom of Afghanistan to overthrow the Durand Line and joins India in partitioning and occupying Pakistan? Although this has not happened in history, it should be guarded against. The British also have the intention of sabotaging this attempt by pulling India.

When Pakistan applied to join the United Nations, Afghanistan voted the only one against it. Since this risk exists, naturally the meeting to force Pakistan to compromise was also used by the United Kingdom to persuade the United States. The United States was obviously persuaded. Once India The Kingdom of Afghanistan really has a common intention to be hostile to Pakistan, and the Soviet Union has really achieved a strategy of cutting off the Eurasian continent in the middle. This kind of confrontation cannot continue.

The following month, the Stockholm Conference mainly focused on negotiations on the issue of a referendum on Kashmir to determine the future direction. Britain and the Soviet Union still had the same attitude. Blurring this issue actually means not supporting Pakistan's claims and adopting an attitude of covering up India's claims.

In the process of reaching a consensus with the Soviet Union as soon as possible, Alan Wilson had to take a certain major country to take a bullet, saying that the Soviet Union's so-called allies were rebellious and supported Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

On the contrary, the Soviet Union should, like Britain, stand on India's side. Only in this way is it in the common interests of Britain and the Soviet Union.

When it comes to dealing with Pakistan, the UK adopts a covert intimidation attitude. Pakistan should not think that this oil embargo can help Pakistan gain much advantage. The British Royal Navy is fully capable of using the same embargo to give Pakistan a taste of India's treatment.

The United States has already imposed an arms embargo on Pakistan and promoted an armistice. If Pakistan is disobedient, the United States will also side with the United Kingdom, because the United Kingdom is running for peace.

For the United States, Washington's pursuit is to quickly calm down the instability in South Asia. As for how a peace agreement is reached, it doesn't matter. At this point, Pakistan has understood that it will get nothing.

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

At this time, the Stockholm Conference entered the real highlight. In one day, British Prime Minister Eden and Chairman of the Soviet Council of Ministers Kosygin successively announced their visits to Stockholm.

In this way, the Stockholm Conference became a meeting where the heads of state of the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, India, and Pakistan gathered. The host Erland was naturally unwilling to give up this opportunity to show his face. Although he had been the prime minister for twenty years, who would It's too long. If he can be re-elected, he still has to fight for it. Such an important meeting itself is a political asset.