Pull Out Troops, Soviets Demand
The Soviet Union demanded again Saturday that the United States withdraw its invasion troops from Panama immediately.
The Foreign Ministry called in U.S. Ambassador Jack F. Matlock and expressed displeasure with the American military intervention, the official Soviet news agency Tass said.
Moscow insisted on an American withdrawal when U.S. troops invaded Panama on Dec. 20 seeking to arrest dictator Manuel A. Noriega and bring him back to the United States for trial on drug-trafficking charges.
The ousted Panamanian strongman eluded capture and entered the Vatican’s embassy Dec. 24.
Tass said First Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Bessmertnykh called on U.S. forces to pull out of the Central American country.
“It was again declared that the interests of normalization and stabilization of the situation in the Central American region demand the immediate withdrawal of American forces from Panama,” Tass said.
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