Belgian Leader Stops Short of Pledge to Take Missiles

Belgian Premier Wilfried Martens reassured President Reagan today that Belgium remains committed to the NATO decision to deploy nuclear missiles in Western Europe but stopped short of declaring that his nation will go ahead with a scheduled March deployment of its share of the U.S.-built missiles.

In a departure statement after two hours of talks at the White House, Martens said he reaffirmed Belgium’s attachment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization plan of continuing to place the new missiles while superpower arms negotiations go forward “as an expression of firmness in defense and of openness for dialogue.”

Although the assurances fell short of a firm commitment to proceed with the deployment of cruise missiles in Belgium in March as scheduled, a senior Administration official said, “I am reassured.”

“Our sense, flowing out of this meeting, is one of confidence and optimism,” the official said.

The senior U.S. official said Martens told Reagan that Belgium will consult with other allies before making a final decision on the missile deployments.

Martens’ government has agreed in principle to deploy 48 cruise missiles on Belgian soil unless the Soviet Union reduces its SS-20 intermediate-range nuclear missiles aimed at Western Europe.

However, major opposition parties have made the missiles a top political issue, and Martens’ own Christian Democratic Party, the largest party in the ruling coalition, has called for delaying final decisions to await the results of the renewed arms talks.