McFarlane Sees Progress in Arms Talks
National security adviser Robert C. McFarlane said today that he detects “a few signs that might ultimately prove to be promising,” despite the overall failure to make progress during the second round of the U.S.-Soviet arms talks in Geneva.
“In this round, the Soviets were marginally less polemical than in the first round and in some areas they have begun to respond to our efforts” to negotiate on particular issues, President Reagan’s chief foreign policy adviser told reporters at a White House briefing.
McFarlane said the one area of apparent movement has been on the subject of space weaponry, although he noted that the Soviets continue to insist on banning research into defensive weapons, the object of Reagan’s so-called “Star Wars” research program.
‘More Serious Dialogue’
“In the defense and space area, the Soviets have begun to engage us in a more serious dialogue,” McFarlane said.
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