It’s Official: E. Germany Out of Warsaw Pact
East Germany, once the front-line state in the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact, formally withdrew from the alliance today as it prepared for unity with West Germany.
With 10 days remaining before the merger, a protocol on the pullout of East German troops from the Warsaw Pact was signed in East Berlin by Defense Minister Rainer Eppelmann and the Warsaw Pact commander-in-chief, Soviet Gen. Piotr Lushev, the official news agency ADN said.
The two Germanys will unite Oct. 3, and the new country will be a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The Soviet Union lifted its objections to NATO membership for a united Germany in July, clearing a major obstacle to unification.
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