Nuclear treaty support sought

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33712, 9 December 1974, Page 19

Nuclear treaty support sought

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyr ight)

WASHINGTON , December 8. The United States Secretary of State (Dr Henry Kissinger) has delivered his most powerful appeal for support of the United States-Soviet agreement to put a ceiling on nuclear missiles.

In a blunt warning to Congress he said that a divisive debate on the Vladivostok agreement would lead the Soviet Union to conclude that United States-Soviet detente faced insuperable difficulties in the United States. It was the first time that an Administration official had linked the agreement so closely with the survival of detente.

Dr Kissinger’s statement at a press conference yesterday came as the climax of a Ford Administration counteroffensive against critics of the agreement hammered out by President Ford and the General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party (Mr Leonid Brezhnev). Critics led by Senator Henry Jackson (Democrat, Washington) maintain that the ceiling of 2400 strategic missiles for each side—of which 1320 can be equipped with multiple warheads—is too high. Senator Jackson is urging that Congress send the agreement back for renegotiation. But Dr Kissinger said that if Congress took this course, it should also vote up to SUSIO,OOOm for a new arms build-up that would be needed to provide incentive for the Russians to agree to lower ceilings.

He said the Russians had made very major concessions at Vladivostok, and the United States had achieved all its objectives. If there were now a divisive debate on the accords, he said, “I think then that the Soviet Union would only be able to conclude that a political detente with the United States faces difficulties of an insuperable nature in the United States.” ‘Euphoria’ A joint statement issued yesterday after talks be-| tween President Ford and

the Chancellor of West Germany (Mr Schmidt) indicates that tbie United States-West German alliance may have replaced the Anglo-American partner'ship as Washington’s principal alliance in Europe. Informed observers have spoken of "a turning point.” The joint statement on joint efforts to solve inflation, energy shortages, disarmament, and almost all the major problems contains no hint of disagreement.

The • recent political problems i imong the European Econori lie Community's nine membe rs and Mr Schmidt’s skeptic: ism over European unity c ombined with American palicy to produce what some have described as “euphoria.”