Arms race attacked

Press, 12 August 1980, Page 9

Arms race attacked

NZPA-Reuter Geneval The United States and the Soviet Union face criticism of their bilateral arms-con-trol efforts at the five-yearly review of the 1968 Nuclear N o n-proliferation Treaty which began in Geneva yesterday. Practically all the 11 countries which have pledged not to develop nuclear arsenals under the pact feel that the two superpowers and Britain fc have done little to fulfil their side of the bargain, which the

countries interpret as cessation of the nuclear-arms face, conference sources Said. c , The four-week conference will examine how effective the treaty has been in curbing the spread of nuclear weapons and is due to call for tougher international control over the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Some of the 30 to 40 modern States which have the technology to develop nuclear weapons feeT'they were tricked into ratifying the pact by promises that

it would give Britain, the United States, and . the Soviet Union enough breathing space to negotiate general disarmament, the sources said. Non-nuclear States are particularly critical of Washington’s failure so far to ratify its second Strategic Arms' Limitation Treaty (S.A.L.T. II) with the Soviet Union, and the slow-moving private negotiations between the United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain towards a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty.