Gorbachev Suggests Europe Arms Talks : Proposes Informal Discussions in Address to Poles

Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev suggested today that East and West European leaders should informally explore ways to break the long impasse in negotiations aimed at reducing conventional forces in Europe.

Polish Communist Party General Secretary Wojciech Jaruzelski greeted Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa, when their Aeroflot jet arrived at Warsaw’s Okecie Airport on a mild, sunny morning.

Gorbachev, who is personally popular in Poland, will be working during his six-day visit to overcome a traditional antipathy among Poles toward Russians that has existed for centuries.

The Gorbachevs approached several hundred citizens waving Polish flags, and Gorbachev paused to sign several autographs and chat with people in the crowd.

Afterward, in an address to the Polish Parliament, Gorbachev said he would be willing to withdraw Soviet air forces from Eastern Europe if NATO drops its planned deployment of 72 U.S.-built F-16 fighter-bombers in Italy.

Reiterates Arms Plan

And he reiterated a Soviet plan for resuming conventional arms talks with an exchange of troop data and an initial withdrawal of 500,000 troops from either side of the borders that separate North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Warsaw Pact forces in Europe.

In a departure from his prepared text, the Soviet Communist Party general secretary offered to explore informally with the Western powers new ways to break the deadlock over a conventional arms reduction agreement. The two sides have never agreed on how to count their respective armies and have found no starting point for force reductions.

“If NATO shows such readiness, we can discuss the problem of the lack of balance before the start of official talks about the data concerning troops,” Gorbachev said.

Referring indirectly to a trouble area in the ostensibly friendly relations between the Soviet Union and Poland, Gorbachev pledged to pursue the search for facts explaining what are called “blank spots” in Soviet history.

Katyn Forest Massacre

One of the those blank spots, which Gorbachev did not mention specifically, is the massacre of about 4,500 Polish military officers in the Katyn Forest shortly after the outbreak of World War II.

A joint study commission has already been established to investigate what happened during Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s rule, and Polish officials had expressed hope that Gorbachev would acknowledge Soviet responsibility for the slaughter.

But Gorbachev said only that studying the facts is “the only path to the truth” and that the discussions will continue.

“One cannot change history,” the Soviet leader said. “But one can and should draw conclusions from it.”

“We condemn Stalinist repressions,” Gorbachev said. “As it is known, they also covered many Polish Communists,” who disappeared after being summoned to Moscow by Stalin.