Arms Pact Will Save $80 Million, Soviet General Says

The Red Army’s chief of staff said Friday that the superpower missile treaty will free “tens of thousands” of his soldiers from their present duties, and a general said it would save the country more than $80 million.

Marshal Sergei F. Akhromeyev, the military chief of staff, and Maj. Gen. Vladimir I. Medvedev were among top officials called to speak before a special panel of the Supreme Soviet that is considering ratification of the pact.

The treaty to ban superpower medium- and shorter-range nuclear missiles was signed by Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev and President Reagan on Dec. 8. The treaty must be ratified by the Supreme Soviet’s Presidium to become law, but because it already has been approved by the ruling Communist Party Politburo, passage is assured.

“There will be several tens of thousands of people freed up (as a result of the treaty),” Akhromeyev told the panel, adding that 3% to 4% of the military men released from their (missile) duty would be put on pension, but that younger men could continue with their military careers.

Medvedev told the panel that missiles and other Soviet military equipment worth $33 million to $41.5 million would be destroyed because of the treaty. He also said that the Soviet Union would save $83 million, and that military equipment used for the missiles that does not have to be destroyed is worth $250 million.

In an interview later Friday, Viktor P. Karpov, head of the Soviet Foreign Ministry’s arms control department, said he hopes next week’s visit by Secretary of State George P. Shultz will break a stalemate on arms control.