Soviets Threaten Buildup if U.S. Drops SALT II

Administration officials Wednesday defended President Reagan’s decision to renounce the second strategic arms limitation treaty unless Moscow halts its arms buildup, while official Soviet commentators warned of further weapons increases if the United States carries out its threat.

The Soviets “obviously feel no qualms” about violating the terms of the treaty, Kenneth L. Adelman, director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, said. “We are not going to have a situation where we continue to comply with the treaty and the Soviets keep cheating. To be serious about arms control is to be serious about compliance.”

The Tass and Novosti news agencies--which are voices of the Soviet government--assailed Reagan for selectively abiding by some aspects of the SALT II pact and discarding others that acted as “a straitjacket” for the Administration’s strategic plans.

“To disentangle from it, American politicians are lying about a mythical Soviet superiority and its violations of SALT II,” Novosti said.

‘Will Protect Allies’

If the United States discards the treaty, Moscow “will draw the necessary conclusions and take measures to protect its allies and its own security,” the agency said.

Paul C. Warnke, the chief U.S. negotiator for the 1979 treaty, predicted that an Administration decision to scuttle it would invite an immediate arms buildup by the Soviets. “What we’re doing is opening the gates for increases, not reductions, with no real gains,” he said, accusing Reagan of “straining to violate the terms of the treaty for no military or strategic purpose.”

Warnke, now a lawyer in private practice, said the Soviets are likely to move toward “a net augmentation” of their intercontinental ballistic missile force by keeping older SS-18 and SS-19 ICBMs in service at the same time they deploy more modern SS-24s, which are comparable to the U.S. MX missile.

Adelman countered Warnke’s argument by asserting that “the Soviet buildup will be staggering with or without SALT II.” He said that Moscow is modernizing its entire intercontinental ballistic missile force and plans a 5%-7% increase in spending for strategic weapons.

NATO Notified Earlier

A White House official said there has been “relative silence” about Reagan’s decision to scrap SALT II later this year if the Soviets continue to violate its terms. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies were notified by Reagan earlier this month during the Tokyo economic summit.

“The allies wanted us to continue our political commitment to SALT II even though they realize it gives the Soviets a license to violate,” said an Administration official who requested anonymity.