Soviet soldier to leave

Press, 23 September 1980, Page 8

Soviet soldier to leave

NZPA-Reuter Washington A Soviet soldier who sought political asylum at the United States Embassy in Kabul last week has left the mission after receiving Soviet assurances that he would be free to quit the Army, the State Department has reported. The department said that Private Aleksandr Kruglov was given a promise of no victimisation during a meeting with Soviet officials in the embassy, held under strict American ground rules. The department said that Private Kruglov left with the Soviet Ambassador (Mr Fikryat Tabeev) after writing out a statement saying; “I assure you that my decision about voluntary departure from the United States Embassy was not made under any kind of pressure.” The soldier, one of an estimated 85,000 Soviet troops now stationed in Afghanistan, was given temporary refuge at the United States Embassy on September 15. • Afghan security forces later started searching United States diplomatic cars and . restricting access to the compound as Soviet authorities demanded the return of Private Kruglov.

The State Department said that at the embassy meeting, Mr Tabeev told Private Kruglov that he would be free to leave the Army immediately and to resume his “technical education” with . no charges or penalties against him. American authorities had flown in a Russian-speaking political officer from the United States Embassy in Moscow to make sure that the soldier fully understood the options open to him. These included the right to stav in the Kabul Embas-

sy while efforts were made to transfer him to the United States or a third country, the right to leave the embassy with Soviet officials, and the right to declare that he wanted to think over his position. “The meeting was conducted according to our own carefully controlled conditions to assure that Kruglov would have an opportunity to make his decision freely without any • duress,” the State Department said. It added that the embassy reported no intimidation.