‘Still a Gap’ Between U.S., W. Germany Over Missiles

Secretary of State James A. Baker III said today “there is still a gap” between the United States and West Germany over short-range nuclear missiles that may not be resolved in time for the NATO summit.

At a White House news conference less than a week before the start of a potentially discordant summit, Baker indicated that discussions were continuing to close the rift, but he would not predict success.

“There is still a gap between their position and our position. We’re not there yet,” Baker said. “I can’t tell you that we know it will be resolved. It is not resolved. There is still a gap to bridge and we continue to work to try and bridge that gap.”

Baker’s comments came as the Administration weighed a written response from Chancellor Helmut Kohl to a U.S. counterproposal to link negotiations with the Soviet Union over limiting the short-range nuclear weapons to an actual reduction in conventional arms.

At the same time, Belgian Prime Minister Wilfried Martens announced that his country will stick to its demand for earlier negotiations on the short-range weapons, buttressing the position of West Germany.

Baker said he did not believe that the issue would overshadow the allied meeting if unresolved. “I just don’t think it will totally dominate the summit,” he said.