U.S. extends embargo

Press, 2 January 1981, Page 6

U.S. extends embargo

NZPA-Rduter Washington The Carter Administration has said it will extend the partial embargo on United States grain sales to the Soviet Union for another year as a “last gasp’’ foreign-pol-icy gesture before going out of office.

Administration officials conceded that the decision was more symbolic that substantive because the incoming Reagan Adminstration would have the authority to terminate the embargo any time after it took over on January 20. Reagan aides and the Agriculture Secretary-desig-nate, John Block, have said they plan to re-examine the embargo with a view to lifting it. The embargo, which bans

I certain exports of gtain, | chemicals, and high-tech-nology equipment' to the Soviet Union, was imposed, by President Carter after the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in December, 1979. By law; the embargo would have ceased at the end of the year if the Carter Administration had not chosen to extend it. A Commerce Department spokesman, Dan Landa, described the decision by the Administration as “our last gasp of foreign policy”. He said the Administration planned to extend the embargo until December) 31 this vear.

In New Delhi, the Press Trust of India has reported that at least three people were killed when troops

jopened .fire on demonstrating policemen in the Afghan capital of Kabul this week. The policemen were said to have.stoned government buildings arid cars in a protest against- an extension of their tours of duty. The Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Mr Abdul Rasheed Arian, reported last week to have defected, was quoted by the State-run Radio Afghanistan yesterday as saying he -“laughed with all his friends when told about the news reports.”' ' ' The Pakistani English-lan-guage newspaper, “Muslim.” [said on Saturday that Mr I Arian, a member of the Khalq faction of the ruling Marxist Party, had fled the country. The report was picked up by international ' news organisations.