Way looks free to S.A.L.T. II

Press, 9 May 1979, Page 9

Way looks free to S.A.L.T. II

NZPA-Reuter Washington A hectic round of negotiations appears to have overcome the last obstacles to > the new United States-Soviet Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (S.A.L.T. II). < Officials hinted that two meetings on Monday be- I tween the United States Secretary of State (Mr Cyrus Vance) and the Soviet Ambassador to the United States (Mr Anatoly Dobrynin) had dispelled all doubts about completing the treaty, after six years and a half. “You’ll get an announcement,” a senior State Department official said, indicating that it would come from the White House, probably this week. Mr Vance said his first meeting with Mr Dobrynin, which lasted 45 minutes, had been very' good. Mr Vance then saw President Carter at the White House for an hour before inviting the Soviet envoy back to the State Department. As they began the second meeting, which lasted just 11 minutes, Mr Vance had a spokesman tell reporters

that he hoped to complete the negotiations this week. Since Mr Vance chooses his words very carefully, his comment that the talks had been “very good” was viewed as an indication that an accord was at hand. United States officials said the two negotiators had made progress in overcoming the last few details in the way of the S.A.L.T. II agreement. They would not say what remained to be done.

Mr Vance and Mr Dobrynin have now held 24 sessions on S.A.L.T. 11, but Monday was the first time they had met twice in one day. President Carter and Administration officials were expected to brief congressional leaders on the treaty before making any public announcement.

Officials said that from now until the agreement was disclosed, all news would be held under tight wraps. The announcement of the treaty was expected to include details of a summit meeting between President Carter and the Soviet President (Mr Leonid Brezhnev).