The Press FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1969. Limiting Strategic Arms

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32145, 14 November 1969, Page 8

The Press FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1969. Limiting Strategic Arms

The Russian-American talks at Helsinki next week on limiting strategic arms will probably be the first of a series, extending, perhaps, over months or years. The delegations do not propose to examine the prospects for ending the nuclear arms race, although that may emerge as a long-term goal. What is hoped for is agreement on formulae for curbing the race through limitation procedures. But even in that limited context the Helsinki talks will be enormously important They are expected to last about a month, and to produce ideas or proposals which would form the subject-matter for a full-scale confrontation between the two Powers at a later stage. Russian and American stocks of nuclear weapons are now thought to be roughly in balance. A major aim of the Americans is to check further testing of multiple, independently-targeted re-entry vehicles (Mirvs) and vast and costly anti-ballistic missile screens. The argument generally is that if such systems were developed and were assumed to work effectively, some catastrophic act of destruction might be committeed by an aggressor hoping to get in first. President Nixon has been under great pressure to declare a unilateral moratorium on the testing of Mirvs in the hope. of encouraging the Russians to agree to act jointly. It is certain, at any rate, that hopes for a joint moratorium will be raised by the American delegation in Helsinki. Both Powers have the strongest reasons for wanting a compromise. Russia has attained nearparity with the United States in nuclear strength only by spending at a rate it cannot possibly maintain. The men in the Kremlin are still preoccupied with fear of China; and the consequences of Czechoslovakia face them in Europe. The Americans are determined to extricate themselves from Vietnam, and hope eventually for a general disengagement in Asia. The cost of Vietnam continues to weigh heavily against hopes for social improvement at home. Both Powers continue to watch each other warily in the Middle East. Neither will expect any early or definite decisions at the Helsinki talks. The rest of the world can only hope that they will lead to broader examination of the perilous rivalry into which Moscow and Washington have been drifting. The most encouraging aspect may be that there is at the moment a clear wish to be in touch, and to explore such areas of concession or agreement as may exist. In brief, as “ The Times ” has noted, diplomacy may be coming into its own again—with, under pressure of events, each of the Powers resenting the other’s influence in the third world a little less. If that is a true reading, it can only be regarded as a gain.