‘Significant Progress’ on Truce in Angola Reported After Talks

Representatives of the two warring factions in Angola met Thursday with three outside mediators, and a joint statement issued afterward reported “significant progress” toward a cease-fire in the country’s civil war.

Joining the Angolans at the talks were officials from the United States, the Soviet Union and Portugal, the former colonial power in Angola and site of the five rounds of peace talks held thus far this year.

“We believe that significant progress has been made and that the prospects for a successful sixth round of negotiations in Lisbon early next year have been enhanced,” the joint statement said.

The statement said the delegates were favorably impressed by the friendly atmosphere created by the two Angolan parties as well as by the seriousness of their approach to the negotiations.

The U.S., Soviet and Portuguese participants held a news conference late Thursday but declined to cite the areas in which progress was made. They also said the discussion was an exchange of views rather than a negotiating session.

Herman J. Cohen, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for African affairs, said the “main point of agreement” is that Angola’s leftist government is now willing to implement constitutional changes to convert Angola from a one-party Marxist state to a multi-party democracy. This was agreed to at a party congress last weekend.

The United States and the Soviet Union have been arming opposite sides in the conflict but have agreed to stop weapons shipments once a cease-fire agreement is reached. The war has dragged on for 15 years and killed hundreds of thousands of Angolans.

Jonas Savimbi, leader of the Angolan rebel movement UNITA, said Thursday after a meeting with President Bush that peace prospects have improved as a result of joint efforts by the superpowers.

“I think both the United States and the Soviet Union are joining hands in trying to find a solution to the Angolan problem,” Savimbi said after a 20-minute meeting with Bush, during which he thanked Bush for U.S. support for his forces.

He said his goal is a truce in early 1991 and free and fair elections by the end of the year. He said the rival factions in Angola are close to a settlement.