The World - News from March 18, 1987

Spain said that talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger have failed to break a deadlock over the issue of reducing the American military presence there. Chief Foreign Ministry spokesman Inocencio Arias said that “each side expressed their points of view, but the positions are still far apart.” If an agreement is not reached by the end of the year, Madrid has threatened to expel all U.S. forces. Spain has demanded the withdrawal of 72 F-16s and 4,500 troops as a precondition for renewal of a bilateral defense pact, which expires next year.