Soviet Marshal Tells U.S. of Fears Over ‘Star Wars’

The highest-ranking Soviet official ever to appear before Congress warned Friday that Moscow fears the United States still seeks military superiority over the Soviet Union with its so-called “Star Wars” program and its refusal to negotiate reductions in naval strength.

In an appearance before the House Armed Services Committee, Soviet Marshal Sergei F. Akhromeyev said the Kremlin expects to cut its military spending by one-third to one-half before 1995 if current conventional and nuclear arms control negotiations are successful.

The slight, 66-year-old officer, now a senior adviser to Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, also said Moscow expects the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to pursue a policy of “non-interference in the home affairs of socialist countries” in Eastern Europe as tensions between NATO and the Warsaw Pact are reduced over the next decade.

Akhromeyev spoke to the committee at the invitation of Chairman Les Aspin (D-Wis.). Lawmakers characterized the appearance by the retired Soviet chief of staff as unprecedented.

Appearing almost scholarly despite his beribboned uniform, Akhromeyev was at times direct, at times humorous during his long session before the committee.

At one point, noting that the United States spends 11 times as much as the Soviet Union on military pay, Akhromeyev remarked that U.S. admirals and generals get higher salaries than their Soviet counterparts. Rep. G. V. (Sonny) Montgomery (D-Miss.) asked good-naturedly if he was suggesting a cut in pay for the Americans.

“God forbid!” the Russian replied. “I don’t want to fight with them (the American officers). I just started becoming friends with them.”

Another congressman, Rep. Floyd Spence (R-S.C.), noted that Akhromeyev was precise in divulging existing quantities of some types of Soviet weapons, but in the case of sea-launched cruise missiles (SLCMs), he referred only to “certain numbers” of the weapons.

“You don’t tell us how many SLCMs you have,” the Russian responded with a smile, “so in this case, that’s how I’ll base my answer. . . . (But) we’re prepared to exchange that information.”

In his formal presentation, Akhromeyev said the Soviet Union is “convinced that political means to achieve security will predominate in the 1990s, while the role of military means must decrease. However, the war danger has not gone away.”

“Let me tell you in all candor,” he continued, “that we see the reason for war danger in the position-of-strength policy pursued by the U.S. and NATO.”

In particular, he said, if a so-called “Star Wars” anti-missile system is created, the United States would achieve a major military advantage by having a defensive space-based system that the Soviets would not possess. A new arms race in space would result from implementation of the Strategic Defense Initiative, he predicted, and the proposed strategic arms treaty to cut offensive weapons by 50% “would become inappropriate.”

Similarly, “a major prerequisite for further improvement in Soviet-American relations” is a series of talks to reduce naval forces and limit military activities at sea, he said.

‘Position of Strength’

“We are greatly concerned” at U.S. reluctance to begin such talks, he said, because it suggests that the United States, after an agreement on cutting ground forces in Europe, could “then build up its naval forces without any constraints, especially its carrier battle groups, thus gaining military superiority in order to dictate its will to the U.S.S.R. from the position of strength.”

Since 1987, Akhromeyev said, the Soviets have adopted a military doctrine of “defensive sufficiency, which means the minimum resources possessed by a state or an alliance needed to repulse aggression.”

The results have included reduced military budgets and weapons production, he said. Soviet military spending this year will total 77.3 billion rubles (about $125 billion at the official exchange rate), he said. Cuts of 30 billion rubles ($48 billion) will be realized over a three-year period ending in 1990, he said.

Weapons production will be down an average of 19.5% by the end of 1990, he said, with some systems cut more than others. Production of new tanks, for example, will be reduced more than 40%. Asked if the Soviet Union produced 4,000 tanks a year, Akhromeyev said the correct figure is 1,700.

Differing Estimates of Strength

Aspin questioned Akhromeyev at length on the differing estimates of Soviet military spending. U.S. intelligence officials estimate that the Soviets spend between 130 billion and 160 billion rubles, roughly twice as much as the official Soviet budget claims.

Aspin noted, and Akhromeyev agreed, that the U.S. estimate includes many categories excluded by the Soviets, such as the costs of KGB security police who guard the borders, civilian workers of the Defense Ministry and military construction groups who are often engaged in non-military work.

But even with such factors are taken into account, the Soviet budget should be about 100 billion rubles, rather than 77 billion, Aspin said. The two men then agreed that the lack of a realistic pricing system in the Soviet Union, as well as the artificially low values now placed on raw materials there, probably account for much of the disparity.