Chernenko believed to favour detente

Press, 17 February 1984, Page 6

Chernenko believed to favour detente

NZPA-Reuter Moscow

East-West relations in general and the more specific problems of Afghanistan and Central America dominated a second day . of meetings between the new Soviet leader, Konstantin Chernenko, and world leaders yesterday. Mr Chernenko met the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr Pierre Trudeau, who was the last Western leader to see him after the funeral of the President, Yuri Andropov. Mr Trudeau said afterwards that Mr Chernenko appeared to be a realistic man who referred frequently to the policy of detente, which flourished under his mentor, Leonid Brezhnev, Mr Andropov’s predecessor, and seemed possibly inclined to continue it.

Mr Trudeau acknowledged that although Mr Chernenko seemed to have certain clear points to make, most ad-lib discussion had been handled by the veteran Foreign Minister, Mr Andrei Gromyko. Mr Gromyko accompanied Mr Chernenko at all his meetings with foreign leaders yesterday. Mr Gromyko’s strong speech at Mr Andropov’s funeral gave the impression to many diplomats that he would guide foreign policy now. Mr Chernenko yesterday met the Cuban President, Dr Fidel Castro, the Nicaraguan leader, Daniel Ortega Saavedra, and the Afghan leader, Babrak Karmal. In his meeting with Dr Castro, Mr Chernenko reaffirmed the Soviet Union’s aid commitment to Cuba.

After his meeting with Mr Ortega the official Soviet news agency, Tass, issued a denunciation by both men of Washington’s activity in Central America.

A Pakistani Embassy spokesman in Moscow yes-

terday said that a request by President Zia ul-Haq for a meeting to discuss Afghanistan had been ignored. General Zia later told an airport news conference in Islamabad that there had been no time for such a meeting. Moscow has more than 100,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan to bolster the Karmal Government against rebels, many of whom operate out of General Zia’s country. A Chinese Deputy Premier, Wan Li, the highest-ranking member of the Peking leadership to visit Moscow in two decades, met, as expected, his own counterpart, a Politburo member and Deputy Prime Minister, Geidar Aliev.

Although Peking and Moscow are edging slowly toward some level of rap- . prochement after 20 years of bitter feuding, diplomats said that Mr Wan’s reception had been only correct, not warm. Mr Chernenko also met the Vietnamese President, Mr Truong Chinh, to discuss their relations and Southeast Asia. Friction between China and Vietnam has complicated the Sino-Soviet normalisation talks. The Soviet Prime Minister, Mr Nikolai Tikhonov, also held talks with visiting heads of Government, including the Portuguese Prime Minister, Dr Mario Soares, with whom he discussed political and economic ties.

In talks with the Cypriot Prime Minister, Mr Spyros Kyprianou, Mr Tikhonov reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment to reunification of the divided island. He also discussed the Mediterranean with the Maltese President, Miss Agatha Barbara.

The Mozambican President, Mr Samora Machel, also met Mr Tikhonov for talks on southern Africa.