Weinberger Seeks Pact on Bases in Spain

Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger met with Spanish officials Monday in a bid to break a deadlock in negotiations on the future of American military bases in Spain.

Spain has warned that it will expel all U.S. forces unless an agreement on reducing their numbers is reached before the end of the year.

On his arrival Sunday night, Weinberger said he hoped for an “improvement in conditions” during his two-day visit, but he has made no further statements to reporters.

Weinberger’s first meeting Monday was with King Juan Carlos I, who has urged Spanish negotiators to be “tactful and prudent” in the talks on defense issues.

Diplomats said a Spanish demand for the withdrawal of 72 F-16 fighters was expected to be the key issue in Weinberger’s talks with Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez and Defense Minister Narcis Serra.

Spanish officials viewed Weinberger’s visit as an attempt to break an eight-month deadlock in negotiations over the renewal of a treaty that allows the United States to station 12,500 personnel at one Navy and three Air Force bases in Spain.

Gonzalez won a referendum on continued North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership last March in exchange for a pledge to secure a “substantial reduction” in the U.S. military presence.

“There is no doubt that Weinberger will be putting the pressure on Spain to keep the F-16s,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Weinberger has said the fighters, stationed at the U.S. Air Force base at Torrejon, are vital to the security of NATO’s southern flank.

Richard N. Perle, an assistant secretary of defense accompanying Weinberger, added to the pressure on Spain when he said Friday that prospects for a U.S.-Soviet accord on medium-range nuclear missiles increased the importance of conventional forces.

But the Socialist government has rejected American efforts to link the base issue with NATO security questions and has turned down a proposal to move the F-16s to Moron in southern Spain.

A few hours before Weinberger’s arrival in Madrid, thousands of protesters marched on the U.S. base at Torrejon to demand the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

The Torrejon base, eight miles from Madrid, houses the Air Force’s 401st Tactical Air Wing, which flies the F-16s that Spain wants withdrawn from its territory.