Detente Soviet’s main ‘victim’

Press, 7 June 1980, Page 6

Detente Soviet’s main ‘victim’

The Soviet Union had miscalculated the; West’s reaction to the invasion of Afghanistan and the victim had been ■■ East-West detente, said the Deputy Minister of Finance (Mr Templeton) in Christchurch ’-.st evening. The main Soviet motive in moving against its nonaligned neighbour was' concern that the pro-Moscow regime would collapse and be replaced by an Islamic nationalist r'gime, hostile to Soviet interests, he said. Russia had believed that reaction of the West, particularly of the United States, would be • tempered by its more immediate concern with the turmoil in Iran after the overthrow of the Shah. But the move had misfired on the Russians. Addressing the Institute of International Affairs seminar, Mr Templeton said the Soviet Union had lost, more than it had bargained-for. I

“When one considers the damage done to the Soviet Union’s broader foreign policy goals, it is only necessary’ to list its loss of influence within the Muslim non-aligned movement as a whole.”

The wreckage of the detente, of which the Soviet Union was perhaps the most powerful beneficiary,, had been left. ■

“They misread the temper of the 'West generally, mistaking the ■ minor public quarrels that are the normal way that democratic' governments do business with one another in the prosecution of their national interests as a sign of . an to react in concert.

“They misread also the reaction they could expect from the non-aligned world in general and the Muslim world in particular,” Mr Templeton said.