Читать книгу The Great War (All 8 Volumes) - Various Authors - Страница 94

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Austria-Hungary. On the following day Count Berchtold, Minister for Foreign Affairs, telegraphed the ambassador at Berlin, Count Szögyény, an account of the discussion on the 30th inst. between Sir Edward Grey, British Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and the German Ambassador in London, Prince Lichnowsky.

The ambassador was instructed to thank Secretary of State von Jagow for communications made to Austria-Hungary

"and to declare to him that in spite of the change in the situation which has since arisen through the mobilization of Russia, we are quite prepared to entertain the proposal of Sir Edward Grey to negotiate between us and Serbia.

"The conditions of our acceptance are, nevertheless, that our military action against Serbia should continue to take its course, and that the British Cabinet should move the Russian Government to bring to a standstill the Russian mobilization which is directed against us, in which case, of course, we will also at once cancel the defensive military countermeasures in Galicia, which are occasioned by the Russian attitude."

Ambassador Szápáry telegraphed from St. Petersburg:

"The order for the general mobilization of the entire [Russian] army and fleet was issued early to-day."

Count Berchtold notified the Austro-Hungarian representatives abroad:

"As mobilization has been ordered by the Russian Government on our frontier, we find ourselves obliged to take military measures in Galicia.

"These measures are purely of a defensive character and arise exclusively under the pressure of the Russian measures, which we regret exceedingly, as we ourselves have no aggressive intentions of any kind against Russia, and desire the continuation of the former neighborly relations.

"Pourparlers between the Cabinets at Vienna and St. Petersburg appropriate to the situation are meanwhile being continued, and from these we hope that things will quiet down all around."

Ambassador Szécsen telegraphed from Paris that the German Ambassador had officially declared to France

"that if the general mobilization ordered by the Russian Government is not stopped within twelve hours, Germany also will mobilize. At the same time Baron Schoen has asked whether France will remain neutral in the event of a war between Germany and Russia. An answer to this is requested within eighteen hours. The time limit expires to-morrow (Saturday) at one o'clock in the afternoon."

Ambassador Szápáry telegraphed from St. Petersburg that he had resumed conversations with M. Sazonof, Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs, but that the "points of view on the two sides had not materially approximated to each other."

"Meanwhile, however, it has appeared from the conversations between the German Ambassador [Count Pourtalès] and M. Sazonof that Russia will not accept as satisfactory the formal declaration that Austria-Hungary will neither diminish the territory of the Serbian Kingdom nor infringe on Serbian sovereignty, nor injure Russian interests in the Balkans or elsewhere; since then, moreover, a general mobilization has been ordered on the part of Russia."