Baker to Seek Moscow’s Answers on Nuclear Arms, Mideast : Diplomacy: He will test Soviet capacity for cooperation with U.S. He also hopes to visit Baltics.

Secretary of State James A. Baker III, in his first detailed assessment of the failed coup in the Soviet Union, said Wednesday that he will go to Moscow next week to seek answers about control of Soviet nuclear weapons and Moscow’s capacity to cooperate with Washington on Mideast peace and other issues.

He said he also hopes to visit Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to dramatize U.S. recognition of the independence of the Baltic states.

Although it is up to the Soviet people to determine the future relationship between the fraying central government and its 15 constituent republics, Baker said, Washington would strongly advise the creation of “one central command authority” to take control of Moscow’s arsenal of nuclear weapons.

Baker is expected to arrive in Moscow on Tuesday after a day of meetings in Mexico City on Monday with Mexican officials. Later, he plans to go to the Middle East to try to wrap up the final details for a proposed Arab-Israeli peace conference. He said he expects the Soviet Union to act as co-chairman of the conference, in accordance with an agreement made by deposed Foreign Minister Alexander A. Bessmertnykh.

In Moscow, Baker plans to meet for the first time with Boris N. Pankin, the new Soviet foreign minister, and with key members of President Boris N. Yeltsin’s Russian Federation government that seems poised to become the senior partner in a new confederation of sovereign republics.

Baker told a Washington news conference that he will promise U.S. support for Soviet economic reform and offer immediate humanitarian aid such as food to alleviate expected shortages this winter. But he gave no indication that Washington is contemplating the sort of massive cash subsidies that Moscow will need if it hopes to integrate its creaky economy into the world trading system.

In a carefully crafted opening statement, Baker said he will try to discover the future of Soviet foreign policy. He offered two examples of issues he plans to raise--Middle East peace and the continuing occupation of four islands that the Soviet army seized from Japan during the closing days of World War II.

“After consulting with our Japanese partners, I hope to help accelerate action on the Northern Territories, stressing the need to close out the last significant vestige of World War II,” Baker said.

The issue had never previously loomed very large on the list of U.S. concerns but it is a major matter in Tokyo. Japan has hinted that it might provide economic assistance to the Soviet Union if the islands are returned.

When a questioner later reminded Baker that he had said nothing about continued Soviet backing for Fidel Castro’s Cuba, the secretary of state said he also would call on Moscow to eliminate “two examples of old thinking,” support for Cuba and the Marxist-leaning government of Afghanistan.

Although Baker said he hopes to visit the Baltics, he did not announce a schedule for that phase of his trip. He added that he would go to Israel and, probably, other Middle East countries.

He said he hopes to wrap up the procedural details for an Arab-Israeli peace conference which Israel, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the Saudi Arabian-led Gulf Cooperation Council have agreed in principle to attend. He acknowledged that there is no agreement on Palestinian representation but he added: “Maybe we’ll get one on this trip.”

Baker also said he expects to discuss with Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir the Israeli request for $10 billion in loan guarantees to provide housing for a flood of Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union. Although Baker insisted that the Administration is “fully committed” to helping Israel absorb the immigrants, he left little doubt that he expects Israeli flexibility in the peace process in exchange for the money.

“It is a very substantial request . . . and we have ongoing now some very sensitive diplomatic efforts . . . that present us with a rather historic opportunity, I think, to achieve something,” Baker said in reference to the proposed peace conference. “We want to deal with those issues in a way that does not undercut that opportunity.”

In the past, the Administration sought a moratorium on construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in exchange for U.S. help in building housing in Israel proper. Baker has said there is no greater obstacle to peace than Israeli settlement activity.

Baker’s Principles

Secretary of State James A. Baker III outlined five principles to guide U.S.-Soviet ties:

* “The future of the Soviet Union is for the Soviet people to determine themselves, peacefully and consistent with democratic values and principles.”

* Respect existing borders, both internal and external. Any border changes should occur “legitimately by peaceful and consensual means.”

* Support democracy and rule of law. “We support peaceful change only through orderly democratic processes.”

* Safeguard “human rights based on full respect for the individual and including equal treatment of minorities.”

* Respect international law and obligations, especially those pertaining to human rights and military security.

Source: Times Wire Services