‘Star wars’ in way of U.S.-Soviet deal

Press, 17 January 1986, Page 6

‘Star wars’ in way of U.S.-Soviet deal

NZPA-Reuter Washington The proposals for nuclear arms curbs from the Soviet leader, Mr Mikhail Gorbachev, have been welcomed by the President of the United States, Mr Ronald Reagan, but it appeared yesterday that the “star wars” space-shield plan still stood in the way of a deal on nuclear testing. The United States is well advanced on a series of nuclear tests aimed at a laser missile-killer powered by a hydrogen bomb and seems set against joining Mr Gorbachev’s nuclearblast moratorium.

Mr Reagan emphasised his commitment to “star wars,” officially known as the Strategic Defence Initiative. He exempted JU52.75 billion ($5.41 billion) in “star wars” research from 1986 arms-spending cuts required by a new budget-balancing law. He also declared, in a statement marking the resumption of United

States-Soviet arms talk in Geneva, that: “Defence is much safer than offence.” Mr Gorbachev, in a speech on Soviet television, proposed a 15-year programme for banning nuclear arms and extended a five-month Soviet test freeze by three months. He said the process would depend on the United States abandoning its “star wars” plans for a space and landbased system to destroy missiles in flight. Without going into details, Mr Reagan said many elements of Mr Gorbachev’s initiative were not new “and continue to cause us serious concern.” He said there were others that might be constructive. “I welcome the Soviets’ latest response and hope that it represents a helpful further step in the process,” he said. Mr Reagan says offensive nuclear weapons can be scrapped if the superpowers switch to defensive

strategies as exemplified by “star wars.” The Soviet Union wants the project banned, saying it threatens an arms race in space and is designed to give the United States a first-strike advantage. The United States refused to join the Soviet Union in the test moratorium an-

nounced by Mr Gorbachev last July 29. United States officials said the Soviet Union had just completed a series of tests and the United States had to catch up with its own weapons modernisation programme. Some United States experts say “star wars” largely powers America’s determination to continue testing in the face of much domestic and foreign opposition — and could also e explain the Soviet s new-found attachment to a test freeze. Some United States officials say they fear the Soviet Union is ahead in laser weapons technology, while others say Moscow dreads an all-out high technology confrontation with the United States.

The latest test of an Xray device took place under the Nevada desert on December 28 and was the seventh United States test since the Soviet freeze began, official sources said.