An agreement signed by the United States...

An agreement signed by the United States and the Soviet Union won’t guarantee an end to Olympic boycotts, but it should give a boost to the Olympic movement, the U.S. Olympic Committee said.

The agreement calls for sports exchanges between the two nations and is expected to be signed by presidents of the U.S. and Soviet Olympic committees Sunday at Indianapolis.

“People are assuming this is a logical tie-in (to boycotts), but that’s not the case,” USOC spokesman Mike Moran said. “We hope it will encourage participation. But we think it primarily strengthens the ties between the two most powerful athletic nations.”