U.S., Soviets Open Talks on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
The United States and the Soviet Union, without notice, began talks Tuesday aimed at possible cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, a State Department spokesman announced.
The U.S. delegation to the talks, which are being held at the National Academy of Sciences, is headed by John Negroponte, the assistant secretary of state for oceans, environment and scientific affairs. The Soviet delegation is being led by Ambassador Alexander Tiradov.
The talks are expected to finish by the end of the week.
State Department spokesman Charles Redman said the United States invited the Soviet Union to send a delegation following a meeting of space experts in Moscow in September.
“We are prepared to discuss practical cooperation in space science,” Redman said, but he added that the talks would not deal directly with the Administration’s Strategic Defense Initiative, popularly called “Star Wars.”
The discussions involving SDI are to be handled as part of the disarmament talks going on in Geneva and elsewhere.
Redman said a possible joint mission to explore Mars is one of the subjects to be discussed.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
