MOSCOW’S POLICY

Press, Issue 32345, 10 July 1970, Page 13

MOSCOW’S POLICY

Assessment In London (N.Z. Press Assn. —Copyright) LONDON, July 9. The Soviet Union believes that no international issue at present, including the Middle East, is worth going to war • with the West, according to a study published today by the Royal Institute of International Affairs. It says the use of Soviet Union forces in such troublespots as the Middle East is part of a policy to enable Moscow to pursue an active global foreign policy while limiting the West’s freedom of action in critical areas. “Basically, the Soviet Union, however, has alwa/ left herself a tactical lo'V hole through which to es'* pe from the commitments *.k>se risks become too high,” the study says. “S* far, no issue has appea T ». which is worth a war wita the West.” Mr Malcolm Mackintosh, consultant on Soviet Union affairs at the Institute for Strategic Studies, drafted the study, which appears in “The World Today," published by the Royal Institute of International Affairs. The main priorities of Soviet Union policy, it says, are deterrence, protection of the homeland, and the ability to wage general war if deterrence fails. Thus, though spectacular in form, the use of Russian troops in critical areas, such as Egypt, is a “bonus,” and not the essential element of Moscow’s strategic policy. It adds that there are serious gaps in the Soviet Union’s capability, including the lack of seaborne air power, which would make it a long and costly business to develop a true intervention . capability.