Blow to detente

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34105, 18 March 1976, Page 17

Blow to detente

!.\ 2.P.A Reuter —C«p*rtc'-.: WASHINGTON. March 17. ‘ The Ford Administration has indicated that ’detente is in jeopard} by postponing three United States - Soviet joint commission meetings on housing, energy, and commerce, because of Soviet involvement in : Angola.

Talks on the United States purchase of 200.800 barrelof oil a day from the Soviet Union also collapsed yesterday in a dispute oxer freight rates.

While officially unrelated, the two developments emphasised President Ford's resolve to make detente, a word he recently dropped from th vocabtilarly of officialdom, a two-way process. “Actions such as the Sox iet Union's in Angola haxe their penalties.” a State Department snokesman told reporters when he announced the postponements yesterday. The decision to postpone the meetings had been taken because “in light of the situa tiun in Ansola. we felt we could not conduct our busi ness with the Soviet Union as usual.” the spokesman said. The U.S. Secrotarx' of State (Dr Henrx- Kissingeri, appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, ■made no mention of the post pt ■•emenis. he said the United State* xvould resist “So let adven turism.” but ”W<> must keen open the nossibilitx' of mo « I constructive relations. We are prepared to hold out tbp prospect of increasing bilateral co-operation in the econ |omic, technical, and other fields to gix-c both sides an increasing stake in positive political relations." Dr Kissinger, who last .week said that detente could [not survive any more Angoi las, said he hoped a new ’strategic Arms limitation Treaty could be worked otr [on the basis of strict recipro'citv.