Byrd, Dole Urge Caution in New Missile Talks

Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), in Moscow for the formal exchange of documents on the medium-range missile treaty, cautioned President Reagan on Wednesday to move slowly and carefully on any agreement with the Soviet Union to reduce the superpowers’ strategic missile forces by 50%.

Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), who is also in Moscow for the Intermediate Nuclear Forces, or INF, ceremonies, echoed this note of caution. And Byrd said it would be impossible for the Senate to vote on a strategic missiles treaty before Reagan is scheduled to leave office Jan. 20.

The two senators spoke out after the President and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev expressed optimism about the possibility of concluding a strategic arms treaty this year.

“My suggestion would be that we make haste slowly and not go too fast,” Byrd said. “There are big problems of verification and nuclear force structure. Summits are fine, good headline media events, but the devil is in the details. Even in the (INF) treaty, we found holes and flaws, and that was a fairly simple treaty.”

Byrd said he does not believe it is possible for the President to finish negotiating a strategic arms agreement with the Soviets in the seven months remaining of his second term.

Dole Also Favors Caution

Dole said he too favors a cautious approach, but said he would not rule out the possibility of this Administration reaching agreement on slashing nuclear arsenals.

“This Administration has got a lot of life left,” he said, adding that he expects Reagan to “press on with all the skill that he can.”

Byrd and Dole both predicted that the next President, whether Republican or Democratic, will continue with Reagan’s policy of seeking improved relations with Moscow and a 50% reduction in the most powerful nuclear weapons.

The INF treaty that brought the two leaders together in Moscow calls for the elimination of all ground-launched medium-range nuclear missiles. It is the first accord that calls for the elimination of an entire class of nuclear weapons, although medium-range missiles account for only about 5% of the nuclear weapons in the superpowers’ arsenals.

Although the Senate approved the INF treaty by a vote of 93 to 6, it first demanded additional assurances on verification that required partial renegotiation of the treaty.