West wary of pact offer

Press, 7 January 1983, Page 1

West wary of pact offer

NZPA-Reuter Vienna The West was waiting warily yesterday for more details of a non-aggression pact offered by the Soviet leader, Mr Yuri Andropov, while an official East European commentary suggested that negotiations could begin immediately. Mr Andropov and the Communist Party chiefs of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Rumania launched “a new grand peace proposal” in a declaration adopted on Wednesday at the end of a two-day Warsaw Pact summit in Prague, They called for “a treaty of mutual non-use of military force and preservation of peaceful relations” between the Communist alliance and N.A.T.0., a communique said. Initial Western reaction was cautious and unenthusiastic. Officials in London and other N.A.T.O. capitals said it was an old idea that had previously been rejected in the West? Leaders of the 16-nation

Atlantic pact would wait for the full text “to see if there is anything between the lines worth pursuing,” they said. The West German Foreign Minister, Mr Hans-Dietrich Genscher, said Bonn would study the proposal seriously. But he said it would carry more weight if the Kremlin stopped using force in Afghanistan, and renounced its right to intervene in other Communist countries. A commentary by the official Czechoslovak news agency, Ceteka. said: “A treaty between the two military’and political systems, which have massive means of destruction at their disposal, would .undoubtedly reduce the danger of a fatal conflict. “If N.A.T.O. has no aggressive intentions, as its officials often claim, it is very difficult to find serious reasons why negotiations on such a treaty should not be launched immediately. “The governments of the N.A.T.O. member States have a responsibility not only to their own peoples but to all nations, as the treaty would

be open to all other States as equal participants." This clause was not disclosed in the summit communique. but was presumably spelled out in the policy declaration, the text of which was expected to be published in East European capitals today. The communique said the Communist leaders instructed the pact’s Foreign Ministers to begin work on the non-aggression treaty project at their next regular session. . Mr Andropov's partners at the session were Messrs Todor Zhivkov, of Bulgaria; Gustav Husak, of Czechoslovakia; Erich Honecker, of East Germany; Janos Kadar, of Hungary; General

Wojciech Jaruzelski, of Poland; and Mr Nicolae Ceausescu, of Rumania. It was the first formal Soviet bloc summit since May. 1980, and marked Mr Andropov's first mission abroad since he became Soviet party leader on the death of Mr Brezhnev in November. Discussions were conducted in tight privacy in a flag-

decked conference hall in Prague's thirteenth century Hradcany Castle on a hill above the city. Terse communiques said the leaders “reviewed the state of affairs in Europe in the light of the complex international situation, and exchanged views on some other international problems.” They also discussed measures to avert the danger of nuclear war, halt the arms race. preserve andi strengthen detente, consolidate security, and promote co-operation among States with different political systems. In an interview after the summit with the Czechoslovak Communist Party newspaper. “Rude Pravo." Mr Andropov said the Warsaw Pact leaders viewed N.A.T.O. “war preparations” with concern But the Warsaw Pact was strong enough to face up to this threat, he said. Its leaders possessed sufficient good will and determination to gradually strengthen European security

and improve the world political atmosphere. Mr Andropov said the Socialist community remained firm and stable despite what were called negative happenings in the 1980 s. President Reagan responded cautiously to the proposals by Moscow and its allies for a summit meeting and for a non-aggression pact. At a televised news conference Mr Reagan appeared unfamiliar with details of the Warsaw Pact's call earlier for, a non-aggression pact with N.A.T.0.. but he said the idea certainly should be considered. It was “something that would require consultation with all of our allies in N.A.T.0..” he said. United States officials earlier refused to comment directly on the proposal but noted that similar ideas had been, advanced by the Soviet Union regularly for some 25 years. The United States and its allies have consistently rejected such a treaty.