International Carter has uphill fight ahead over S.A.L.T. II

Press, 11 May 1979, Page 6

International Carter has uphill fight ahead over S.A.L.T. II

NZPA-Reuter Washington President Carter of the United States faces the biggest battle of his Presidency in seeking to win Senate approval of the new Strategic Arms Limitation f reaty — S.A.L.T. II — which was announced in Washington yesterday.

Several leading senators have already said the outcome of the debate is uncertain in the Senate, where a) two-thirds majority of the 100 members is needed for ratification of the treaty. The Soviet Limon has still' not made any announcement about the basic completion of high-level negotiations on the treaty after six years of talks. American officials sayi they see no significance in the Soviet silence on the issue.

The officials say the Carter Administration made the announcement to promote the treaty in the lace of a determined campaign against ft in Congress. The Washington announcement said the new treaty would be signed at a summit meeting between President Carter and the Soviet President (Mr Leonid Brezhnev). The meeting is exFiected to take place n Europe in mid-June, probably in Vienna. Stocknolm. or Geneva. The new treaty — the first S.A.L.T. accord was signed in 1972 — is the most sweeping attempt yet to limit the nuclear arms race. In the announcement at the White House, the United States Secretary of State (Mr Cyrus Vance) said: “With this treaty, we take

an essential step towards a safer .America and a safer world." The Defence Secretary (Mr Harold Brown) strongly endorsed the treaty. But his assurance appeared unlikely to be enough to appease the treaty’s critics. Two influential senators immediately forecast that the Senate would amend the treaty — an action that would almost certainly mean lengthy new negotiations with the Soviet Union.

The prediction was made in separate meetings with reporters by the Republican Leader. Senator Howard Baker, of Tennessee, and the Washington state Democrat. Senator Henry Jackson, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee and a leading opponent of the pact. “I have a strong feeling that the treaty is likely to he amended or returned for further negotiations,” Senator Baker said. He said he had emphasised to President Carte,; at 'a private meeting before the United States announcement that the treaty was basically complete, that the accord should not be handled on a ”take-it-or-leave-it” basis. Senator Baker said he wes leaning against the treat’,, and Senator /ackson force-) fully reiected it as “substan-l

tially unequal and unverifiabl’e.” and not in the interests of United States security .

Administration officials say that sending the treaty back for renegotiation could open a Pandora's Box of demands for concessions by

both sides The fight for ratification Will be far more complicated than the protracted agony last year over the Panama Canal treaties, which were ratified with one uote to

spare. Consideration of S.A.L.T. I! will be intertwined with widespread concern oyer a continuing Soviet military build-up. fears that the (United States will not be I able to check on any Soviet [attempts to cheat on the [agreement, and “linkage” I with Russian activities in ; Africa and other parts of the I world. Finally, the timing of the agreement and the debate thrust it into the 1980 Presi-tdential-election arena. • It appeared almost certain i [that Moscow’s reluctance toi (confirm that agreement had! [been reached was because! (what Mr Vance called “a( few remaining secondary ( I items” had not been re-j solved. In recent days. Soviet officials and press commentators have said that!

agreement appeared near, but have declined to predict exactly when the talks would be concluded. There was no hint in Moscov- that the Soviet Union [had any quarrel with Mr 'Vance’s assessment of the : state of the negotiations, (which te Kremlin has 'frequently said it wanted to (see completed quickly. But it seemed likely that (Soviet leaders preferred to (say an announcement of their own until final details had been wrapped up and a time and place for a sum-mit-level signing had been agreed. There is strong speculation in Moscow that the (Kremlin may have agreed to (allow the United States to (make a unilateral statement (in order to give President Carter more time to lobby I for support for the accord in (the United States Senate.

' President Carter said at a Democratic Party banquet that the treatv preserved the (right of the United States to (pursue all the defence programmes it planned or (needed. “But S.A.L.T. II helps to (define and limit the threats |we W’ill face.” Mr Carter saiu. “It will make our (defence efforts more certain and less costly than without I the treaty.”