German Missiles Must Be Part of Pact: Soviets

Soviet arms negotiators formally presented U.S. delegates today with an offer for the total elimination of ground-launched intermediate-range nuclear missiles but insisted that such a plan must include U.S.-controlled warheads for 72 West German missiles.

In Washington, a White House official, who requested anonymity, said the West German missiles “have been and remain a non-negotiable issue.” He said the Soviets brought up the short-range rockets “late in the negotiations” and indicated it remains a stumbling block to an arms agreement.

Speaking with reporters before the afternoon session in Geneva, Soviet arms negotiator Alexei Obukhov confirmed that Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev is prepared to accept the “double-zero” elimination of all ground-launched short and medium-range nuclear missiles announced Wednesday.

Removing Obstacles

“But all artificial obstacles put forward by the American side must fade away,” Obukhov said. He confirmed that one such obstacle is the U.S. argument that West Germany’s 72 old American-made Pershing 1-A short-range missiles should be excluded from any treaty.

Neither U.S. chief negotiator Max Kampelman nor Yuli Vorontsov, the Soviet chief arms negotiator, was present at the Geneva meeting.

In Washington, Kampelman said the Administration is “obviously pleased” with the Soviet proposal. But President Reagan’s national security adviser, Frank Carlucci, said there is no reason for the Administration to change its position on the Pershing missiles.

‘It’s Our Position’

“I don’t understand why they’re putting this obstacle in the way of an agreement,” he told reporters. “It’s really our position, and I see no reason why we would want to change our position on this issue.”

At a Moscow news conference, Vorontsov and other Soviet officials warned that attempts to retain the U.S.-controlled warheads for the Pershing missiles could doom negotiations.

“These warheads are very serious weapons. It is not a trifling matter. These warheads are equivalent in power to 10 or 20 times the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, so it is 72 times scores of Hiroshimas,” Vorontsov said.

Demands Not Negotiable

Sergei Akhromeyev, chief of the general staff of the Soviet armed forces, said Soviet demands for the elimination of the Pershing 1-As are not negotiable.

Akhromeyev said three other basic obstacles blocking a possible agreement were debate on the conversion or transformation of weapons, the timetable for the reduction process, and verification measures.

Washington has insisted that the Soviets, because of a vastly superior number of medium-range missiles, must begin destroying them first. Akhromeyev also complained that Washington was seeking unfair verification terms and wanted to convert weapons, which Moscow opposes.