Talks Snagged on Soviet Troop Pullout
Bonn and Moscow have hit a number of snags in the rush to clear up their complicated relations before Germany unites next month, diplomats said Wednesday.
Diplomats in East Berlin said that six-nation talks on the international aspects of unification had run into difficulty over the withdrawal of the nearly 370,000 Soviet troops from East Germany over the next four years.
Officials of East and West Germany and the four World War II allies--the United States, Soviet Union, Britain and France--are drafting an accord to be signed by their foreign ministers at so-called “two-plus-four” talks in Moscow next Wednesday.
Diplomats could not say what the precise areas of disagreement were, but they speculated that Moscow might be delaying matters until Bonn indicates how generous it will be in helping to pay for the troop withdrawal.
The Berliner Morgenpost, a West German newspaper, reported Wednesday that Bonn has agreed to pay half the cost of withdrawing the Soviet troops.
The agreement apparently was reached in advance of a meeting taking place in Bonn between West German Finance Minister Theo Waigel and Soviet Deputy Prime Minister Stephan A. Sitaryan. Officials in Bonn said the talks, which began Wednesday, might continue for several days.
East and West Germany are to unite on Oct. 3.
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