Soviets Take Observer Seat at GATT Talks for 1st Time
The Soviet Union, stepping up its drive to integrate into the world economy, took a seat as an observer at GATT today for the first time since the 96-nation trade forum convened more than four decades ago.
The ruling council of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade agreed to Soviet observer status after Washington and Tokyo dropped objections, and Soviet Ambassador Evgeny Makeyev was immediately ushered to a seat in the group’s assembly chamber.
Diplomats said the White House may have been trying to send a positive signal to Moscow ahead of a superpower summit in Washington in two weeks, at a time when doubts are being raised on whether the two sides can agree on a strategic arms pact.
“I think there’s a general desire to see the summit go well,” one Western diplomat said.
Makeyev expressed Soviet interest in becoming a full member of GATT and said Moscow is also studying what kind of relations would be appropriate with other institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
“This (observer) status offers to the Soviet side an opportunity to get acquainted with the methods of work of various GATT bodies for studying the conditions of a future accession to GATT,” he told the trade forum’s council.
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