Peace Plan for Angola OKd, Rebel Chief Says
A U.S.-armed guerrilla organization has reached tentative agreement with the Soviet-backed government of Angola on a plan to end 15 years of civil war, rebel leader Jonas Savimbi said today.
At a lengthy session Thursday under the auspices of the United States, Soviet Union and Portugal, the warring sides agreed to set a date for free elections and then immediately sign a cease-fire, Savimbi told reporters.
The breakthrough in the tortuous peace efforts followed a flurry of meetings here this week, including an unprecedented session between Savimbi and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze. Savimbi, who until now had been vilified by the Kremlin as an anti-Communist menace, also met with President Bush on Thursday.
The United States has shipped UNITA as much as $50 million in weapons every year since 1986; the Soviets have given the Angolan government as much as $800 million annually, U.S. officials say.
Under the proposed agreement reached Thursday, both sides would stop sending weapons once a cease-fire is signed, U.S. officials said.
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