Test Gorbachev Rhetoric, NATO Chief Suggests

Manfred Woerner, new secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said Tuesday that Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev should be challenged to back up his reform rhetoric by joining the West in fighting Third World hunger and preserving the environment, as well as in reaching new arms control agreements.

Making his first visit to the United States since July 1, when he succeeded Britain’s Lord Carrington as NATO’s chief administrator, Woerner, a former West German defense minister, said the West should be ready to reciprocate if Gorbachev pursues a responsible foreign policy. But, he said, NATO must maintain its military might in case Moscow reverts to its old ways.

“We should put Mr. Gorbachev to the test,” Woerner said in a speech to the Atlantic Council of the United States, a private group supporting closer ties between America and Western Europe. “We should seek to engage the Soviet Union in fighting hunger in the Third World, in preserving the global environment and in abiding by the rules of the international trade and payments system.”

“To the extent that Mr. Gorbachev responds positively to these challenges, he should have our cooperation. For the West, however, the basic question should be not how to help Mr. Gorbachev but how to pursue peace, stability and human rights.”