Soviets Dispute Weinberger on Troops

The Soviet Defense Ministry on Thursday accused Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger of lying when he said the Soviet Union is not reducing its troop strength in Afghanistan as it had announced.

The official news agency Tass carried an official statement from the ministry that referred to Weinberger’s assertion Wednesday in Peking that the Soviets recently sent more troops to Afghanistan, that this month’s announced withdrawal would not affect overall troop strength there and that the Soviets are conducting a “ruse.”

“We are surprised, said a representative of the Defense Ministry, that such a high-ranking American official could put forth such a lie,” Tass reported.

Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev announced in a July 28 speech in Vladivostok that six Soviet regiments would be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

Moscow announced Wednesday that withdrawal of the six regiments would begin next Wednesday and be completed by the end of the month. Western military experts estimate that six regiments would include about 7,000 troops and that the Soviets have at least 118,000 troops in Afghanistan.

Tass said Weinberger’s statement was intended to hinder the meeting between President Reagan and Gorbachev this weekend.

“One cannot fail to notice that these inventions are put into circulation several days prior to the beginning of a Soviet-U.S. summit meeting in Reykjavik,” Tass said.