U.S. Offers Humanitarian, Technical Aid to Soviets

The United States formally offered the Soviet Union technical and humanitarian assistance today for dealing with the major accident at a nuclear power plant in the Ukraine, the State Department said.

Rozanne Ridgway, assistant secretary of State for European and Canadian affairs, conveyed the offer to Soviet Charge d’Affaires Oleg Sokolov at a State Department meeting, department spokesman Charles Redman said.

Redman also told reporters that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow is in contact with American citizens known to be in the area affected by the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear plant 60 miles north of Kiev. But he had no estimate of the number of Americans who might be in the Soviet city.

A department official, who insisted on anonymity, said he doubted that “there would be more than a handful.”

‘Deep Regret’ Expressed

At the State Department meeting, Redman said, Ridgway “expressed on behalf of the President of the United States deep regret over the accident at the Chernobyl atomic energy station.”

“We hope casualties and material damage are minimal. The United States is prepared to make available to the Soviet Union humanitarian and technical assistance in dealing with this accident,” Redman said, reading a prepared statement.

“The United States is seeking additional information on the accident and has requested the closest possible coordination among all concerned countries. We hope the Soviet Union will provide information about the accident in a timely manner.”

Redman said the Soviets have not asked for any assistance but are aware of the kind of help the United States could provide.

He said he had no details to offer on the scope of the disaster or what is happening in the area. He declined to offer further details on the Ridgway-Sokolov meeting.

The United States plans to open a consulate in Kiev under a recent agreement with Moscow. It presently has no diplomatic presence there. An advance team had been scheduled to visit Kiev in early May to begin arrangements for the opening of the consulate.