Scrapping SALT II ‘a Major Blunder,’ Gromyko Warns
Soviet President Andrei A. Gromyko said Monday that President Reagan’s decision to renounce the terms of the second strategic arms limitation treaty is “a major American blunder” and could affect chances for a planned summit this year.
Gromyko outlined the possible results of scrapping the 1979 treaty to a 14-member British parliamentary delegation headed by Deputy British Prime Minister William Whitelaw.
“We were told quite bluntly that they (the Soviets) want some positive progress before there can be another summit,” Whitelaw said. “That was made clear.”
The Soviet Union has already said it will stop abiding by SALT II if the United States does. Reagan decided last Tuesday to adhere to the treaty’s framework only until the fall, when the United States plans to outfit B-52 bombers with new cruise missiles.
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