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In the course of the discussion in the First Committee the scope of the question was widened to include forces of members of the United Nations in ex-enemy territories, and, finally, forces stationed at home. The representative of the Soviet Union (Mr Molotov), in opening the discussion, said that now that the war was over it might have been expected that troops which during the war had been operating in friendly territory would be recalled, since their tasks had been fulfilled. Yet in some instances allied troops remained in friendly countries in a position to interfere in their internal affairs and exert pressure on their international relations. In addition, widespread air and naval bases had been established far from the national frontiers of certain allied countries. These facts aroused natural uneasiness. The troops of the Soviet Union which had entered Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Norway had been withdrawn by the autumn of 1945, and those in the Danish island of Bornholm in April, 1946. The evacuation of Soviet troops from China had been completed on 3 May, 1946, and from Iran by the beginning of May, 1946. Some military units now in Poland, to protect lines of communication in Germany, had caused no misunderstanding with Poland, while the troops in North Korea provided for by a definite agreement between the Soviet Union and the Allied Powers offered no ground for uneasiness. The presence of troops of the United States of America and the United Kingdom on the territory of friendly members of the United Nations now that the war was over was a different matter. Such troops were located in Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia, while air and naval bases were located in all parts of the globe, including the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. More recently, interest had been shown by military commanders of certain nations in such a remote area as the Arctic. Only the representatives of the United States of America and the United Kingdom could present a comprehensive picture of the whole situation, the political aspect of which, he hoped, was sufficiently clear to the members of the Committee. In August, Mr Molotov continued, the Government of the Soviet Union had suggested in the Security Council the submission to the Council of data on armed forces and air and naval bases of Member States on the territory of non-enemy states, but this suggestion had not been accepted. In the General Assembly, the representative of the United States (Senator Austin) had proposed to widen the project so as to include information on allied troops in former enemy States also. The Soviet Union was ready to accept this proposal. Complete information on armed forces abroad could then be obtained. This was essential to the Security Council and the Military Staff Committee, which were facing the problem of maintaining international peace and security, and were studying the question of the armed forces to be made available to the Security Council in implementation of Article 43 of the Charter.
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