U.S., Soviets Sign 2 Arms ‘Understandings’

The United States announced Friday it had signed two “common understandings” with the Soviet Union on measures to reduce the risk of nuclear war and strengthen international peace.

The understandings relate to the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the 1971 agreement on measures to reduce the risk of nuclear war, a U.S. statement released in Geneva said. It said the signing took place during the two-month spring session of the U.S.-Soviet Standing Consultative Commission.

The commission, set up in 1972, periodically reviews implementation of the SALT I treaty and the ABM treaty. The next session is scheduled for the fall, the statement said.

In Washington, an official of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency said the two sides had “clarified” some of the terminology in the 1972 treaty. But the official, who spoke on condition that he not be identified by name, said the understandings “break no new ground.”