Moscow ‘Encouraged’ by Bush Plan : Arms Proposal Could Speed Agreement, Gorbachev Says

Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev delared here Monday night that he was “encouraged” by President Bush’s conventional arms reductions proposals made at the NATO summit meeting.

The Soviet leader, on the first day of his first visit to the West Germany, added that the proposals could speed up the arms control talks currently under way in Vienna.

It was his warmest response to the Bush proposal last month to cut U.S. combat troops in Central Europe by 20% to 275,000--if the Soviet Union, accepting a deeper cut, reduces its forces in the area to the same level.

“We are encouraged by your readiness to apply reductions to your offensive arms,” said a weary-looking Gorbachev at a state banquet, “not just demand reductions on our side.

“There is more reason to believe now that agreement in Vienna may be reached much earlier than previously thought.”

The “new atmosphere,” he said, “would help in the efforts to put an early end to the military confrontation in Europe, which has already become an anachronism, and to reduce the military capabilities to a level of defense sufficiency.”

For his part, Chancellor Helmut Kohl declared in his speech that West Germany wants negotiations on the reduction of short-range nuclear weapons in Europe “as soon as possible.”

But he went out of his way to emphasize that the West German position on such reductions was “the NATO position,” which meant that only “partial” cuts would be sought rather than elimination of the nuclear arsenal with a less than 300-mile range.

Kohl’s emphasis on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization connection seemed designed to allay the fears of some Western allies that Gorbachev is trying to loosen West Germany’s ties to Western Europe.

“We want negotiations as soon as possible on partial reductions of American and Soviet short-range missiles, not least of all in connection with the process of conventional disarmament,” he declared. “Here, the superiority that exists on the side of the Warsaw Pact is particularly oppressive for us.”

He added: “We welcome the forthcoming resumption of negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union on reducing their strategic nuclear potentials by half. We wish them rapid success.”

The talks, known as START, are scheduled to begin in Geneva next week.

Gorbachev also stressed the need for entering into talks on reducing short-range nuclear weapons, but the Soviet position is that the talks should lead to elimination of this class of weapons, which are limited to a range of up to 300 miles.

“We are convinced that there is no reason to postpone negotiations on tactical nuclear arms,” Gorbachev said.

In a briefing after the leaders’ first two-hour meeting, Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady I. Gerasimov said that because of a summer recess in the Vienna talks on conventional arms reduction, the Bush proposals would not be considered until September.

Then, said Gerasimov, “we will discuss it rather constructively.”

Ecological Cooperation Proposed

In his comments at the banquet, Gorbachev proposed ecological cooperation with West Germany that would include exchanges of technology and emergency assistance in case of an environmental disaster.

He said such cooperation would have “a huge meaning” in Europe’s efforts to combat pollution.

Both Gerasimov and the West German government spokesman, Hans Klein, said their respective leaders discussed “the German question”--the reunification of East and West Germany--during their meeting in the chancellor’s office.

But both spokesman were vague as to any of the specifics brought up in the talk of reunification.

Kohl, in his speech, complained to Gorbachev about the division of Germany, declaring, “It is like an open sore for us.”

He said he wants a Europe “in which synthetic divisions will be eliminated and repulsive symbols such as the Berlin Wall will be torn down.”

Gorbachev alluded to that touchy subject by declaring there are “certain special complexities in relations” between Moscow and Bonn and that the two countries ought “not to exacerbate those complexities.”

During their talks, both Gorbachev and Kohl emphasized the importance of good relations with the United States, Klein said.