Rumania Opposed To Russian Presence

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31062, 18 May 1966, Page 17

Rumania Opposed To Russian Presence

(N.Z. Press Association —Copyright) BUCHAREST, May 17. Rumania was reported yesterday to have told the Soviet Union and her other allies in the Warsaw Pact that the presence of Soviet troops on the soil of member countries was no longer justified, the “New York Times” news service reported.

The Rumanian Foreign Ministry refused to confirm or deny the report which originated in Moscow. The Rumanians were reported to have circulated Notes among Warsaw Pact members outlining their position.

The Bucharest Government declared, according to the reports, that it was no longer willing to pay the cost of stationing Soviet troops in Warsaw Pact countries. The forces are stationed in East Germany, Hungary and Poland. They were with-

drawn from Rumania In 1958. The Note was the first revelation, according to wellinformed diplomats in Bucharest, that the pact members contributed to the cost of maintaining Soviet troops. There are said to be 24 Soviet divisions in East Germany, four or five in Hungary and about 20,000 troops in Poland. While refusing to confirm that the Note had been sent, the Foreign Ministry officials said tonight: “Some elements of this are based on our wellknown position on the presence of foreign troops.” The Rumanian Note is also reported to have assailed the continuity of Soviet command over the Warsaw Pact forces.

(This command should be subject to "periodic rotation.” the Note is reported to have demanded. The Note was communicated. according to reports, before Mr Leonid Brezhnev, First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, arrived in Rumania on a surprise visit last Tuesday. Brezhnev’s Visit Diplomatic sources saw in the Note the explanation of Mr Brezhnev's lightning visit. It confirmed the most common interpretation put on it, that Rumania's dissatisfaction with the present status of the Warsaw Pact was the principal cause of Mr Brezhnev’s arrival. The Soviet Party leader left last Saturday. A communique gave no details on the nature of the four-day talks. Diplomats here viewed the Rumanian initiative as fulfilling their conception of Rumania's national goal—an independent position in the world without quite breaking from the Soviet bloc.