Break with Moscow

Accompanied by his Foreign Minister and a formidable 27-man delegation, Turkey's Premier Adnan Menderes journeyed last week to neighboring Iraq, on the first visit of a Turkish head of state to Baghdad since Iraq freed itself of the Ottomans in 1918. He got a royal welcome. Menderes' mission: to persuade Iraq to join its fellow Moslems in the U.S.-blessed Turkish-Pakistan defense pact, designed to protect the Middle East's "northern tier" from Russia (TIME, March 1). Iraq already has long standing commercial and diplomatic ties with Britain, and two large R.A.F. bases.

Whether Baghdad joins formally or not, its sympathies were made abundantly clear last week. For "economy reasons" little Iraq closed its Moscow embassy and discontinued diplomatic relations with Russia. "An unfriendly act," cried Moscow, withdrawing its own mission from Baghdad.

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