Shevardnadze Cites Other NATO Forces as a Complication

Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze declared Wednesday that French and British forces stationed in West Germany could complicate President Bush’s proposal for cutting U.S. and Soviet troops in Europe to equal levels.

Shevardnadze’s comment, made as he left Paris on his way home to Moscow, fit with several other Soviet warnings that finishing the conventional arms talks in Vienna on the accelerated schedule suggested by Bush would prove extremely difficult.

Shevardnadze, while again welcoming Bush’s initiatives in general, described himself as “pessimistic” on the swift U.S. timetable put forth Monday in Brussels.

“I wish to point out that British and French forces in West Germany represent 100,000 men, and this disturbs the balance,” Shevardnadze added, indicating one reason for his caution.

Britain and France are part of the 23-nation conventional disarmament talks under way in Vienna. Their troops in West Germany have been expected to be included in the talks, as have the troops of Soviet allies in Eastern Europe.