Soviets Propose NATO Talks on Nuclear Cuts

The Soviet Union has proposed that the NATO nations enter into negotiations this fall on the elimination of all tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, alliance officials said Friday.

But NATO diplomats insisted that such bargaining should be put off until an accord is reached in Vienna on reducing troops, tanks and other conventional arms in Europe.

“The Soviet Union proposed to the United States to start negotiations on the elimination of SNF (short-range nuclear forces) in the autumn of this year,” Florent Swijsen, spokesman for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, said in a statement.

“This matter will be discussed by the heads of state and government during their summit meeting in London next month,” he said.

Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said Moscow made the offer earlier this week in Washington. They said the Soviet proposal calls for including not only land-based nuclear arms but also air-launched weapons in the bargaining. Short-range missiles have a range of up to 300 miles.

NATO has spoken before about holding negotiations on land-based weapons. With the easing of East-West tensions, alliance officials have agreed that battlefield nuclear weapons are less important.

As the alliance reduces its land-based forces, analysts expect it to put more emphasis on air-launched nuclear systems. The United States is developing a tactical air-to-surface missile, which would replace bombs.

NATO foreign ministers said last week at a meeting in Scotland that the West will need an appropriate mix of conventional and nuclear weapons “for the foreseeable future.”

The Kremlin’s offer, said the sources, also would cover France, which maintains a nuclear force independent of the Western alliance. France is a member of NATO but does not belong to its joint military command.

The Soviet Union has previously called for quick talks on removing short-range nuclear weapons in Europe, but the alliance has said instead it will open bargaining only after it gets a conventional arms deal.

“We will stick to our timetable,” said an alliance diplomat, demanding anonymity. “This is the logical way of proceeding. First things first, and then we will move on.”

Another diplomat said, “We have got to complete the CFE (conventional armed forces in Europe) agreement and then get on with it.”

“There’s enough to digest before we get on with SNF,” he said.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater said in a written statement that the Administration agrees with the position taken by NATO and believes that such talks should be put off until after an agreement is reached on reducing conventional forces in Europe.

At the same time, Fitzwater said that “the Soviet offer of unilateral cuts . . . would be welcome since it would parallel NATO’s actions.”