Bush tries to unite West over arms

Press, 1 February 1983, Page 8

Bush tries to unite West over arms

NZPA-Reuter Bonn The American Vice-Presi-dent. Mr George Bush, is meeting West German leaders today in what is expected to ’ be the most delicate leg of his sevennation mission to unite Western disarmament policies. With a West German General Election due on March 6. Mr Bush faces a difficult task in welcoming enthusiastic support for American policies from the Conservative Government of the Chancellor. Dr Helmut Kohl, without appearing to take sides in the election campaign. A prospect of new American medium-range missiles

being deployed in West Germany at the end of this year has become a main political issue. Sharp policy differences have emerged between the Coalition Government dominated by Dr Kohl's Christian Democratic party and the opposition Social Democrats. Dr Kohl firmly supports President Ronald" Reagan's "zero option" at the Geneva talks between the United States and the Soviet Union on the limitation of mediumrange nuclear missiles in Europe. Such an agreement would result in Moscow scrapping all its SS2O. SS4 and SSS missiles aimed at Western

Europe in return for an American pledge not to deploy comparable Pershing II and cruise missiles in five countries, predominantly in West Germany. The Social Democrats, led by their candidate for Chancellor, Hans-Jochen Vogel, have been winning popular support by declaring that, it elected, they would be highly unlikely to accept the stationing of new American missiles.