The Moscow Summit : Gorbachev Proposes Cut in NATO, Warsaw Pact Forces

In a summit day devoted largely to arms control, Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev on Monday proposed that NATO and the Warsaw Pact each cut 500,000 troops from their European forces as part of a multi-phased program to reduce all non-nuclear arms on the continent.

The proposal is likely to cause new problems for Washington even though U.S. officials insisted that virtually all elements of the Soviet program had been presented before--and largely rejected.

The proposal represents a potentially divisive political appeal to Europeans weary of living under the threat of a superpower conflict that would devastate their countries, even if nuclear weapons were not used.

The problem is viewed by Administration analysts as particularly troublesome because the recent U.S.-Soviet treaty eliminating land-based medium-range missiles has whetted the public appetite in both the East and the West for more arms reductions.

In particular, officials said, the Kremlin apparently hopes such pressures might force the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to start new talks on conventional arms without getting further Soviet progress on human rights, which has been a NATO condition for such talks. In addition, Moscow could reap the benefits of presenting yet another disarmament proposal that would leave the West in an equivocal spot.

Expected Propaganda Ploy

A Soviet troop strength proposal of some magnitude had been expected as a propaganda ploy. A cut of up to 1 million troops had been predicted by some analysts.

The Soviet proposal to cut half a million from opposing forces in Europe--from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ural Mountains--was somewhat confusing, as Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady I. Gerasimov explained it. He said, in the translation provided by the Soviet interpreter:

“We should start to inspect and control on the spot, and see what should be cut. The next stage is a 500,000 cut in the troops. And the third: Turn all armaments and forces into defensive character forces.”

In previous briefings, Soviet officials outlined the Kremlin’s approach as an initial exchange of information; on-site verification of the accuracy of such data; elimination of the imbalances in forces (implying reductions to equality); equal cuts in manpower, and positioning the forces on each side in a defensive posture.

U.S. officials saw the Soviet proposal Monday as an attempt to circumvent the ongoing 35-nation talks in Vienna that are considering compliance with the Helsinki Accords.

Agreement on Talks

Both blocs, as well as the neutral nations, have essentially agreed that new conventional force talks should be held in the future. But they have not agreed on the mandate for such negotiations, and the NATO nations and the neutrals are holding out for increased Soviet commitments on human rights issues before these new arms talks begin.

NATO nations currently have 5.5 million troops under arms, of which 2.1 million are Americans. The Warsaw Pact alliance has 6.4 million troops, of which 5.2 million are Soviets. The more dangerous imbalance, in NATO’s view, is the big Warsaw advantage in offensive weapons, including a more than 2-to-1 advantage in tanks and over 3-to-1 in artillery.

Under congressional prodding, these offensive forces are the focus of current Administration interest in conventional arms cuts.

A recent study by the Santa Monica-based RAND Corp. found that because of the Soviet Union’s geography and other advantages, troop reductions should be made in a lopsided ratio of five East Bloc divisions for every NATO division in order for the cuts to have equal impact.

NATO efforts to cut conventional forces in Central Europe have made little progress in 14 years. One proposal, still at an impasse, is to reduce both sides to 900,000 soldiers and airmen. That would require, in NATO’s analysis, a cut of 280,000 from Warsaw Pact forces and 92,000 from NATO.