Hawke visit puts spotlight on Pacific policy

Press, 1 December 1987, Page 10

Hawke visit puts spotlight on Pacific policy

NZPA-Reuterr Moscow The Australian Prime Minister, Bob. Hawke, arrived in Leningrad for a four-day visit to the Soviet Union which is expected to put the spottight on Kremlin initiatives towards Asia and the Pacific. Mr Hawke and his entourage of more than 60, Including 12 senior businessmen,* will concentrate on trade during talks in Moscow. The Australian Foreign Minister, Bill Hayden, who arrived on Friday, will sign a long-term economic co-operation programme and take part in talks with Soviet trade and " agriculture officials. When Mr Hawke meets the Russian leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, today, he will get a preview of Soviet foreign policy a week ahead of the Washington super-Power summit Mr Gorbachev is ' also expected to brief him on Soviet domestic issues. Mr Hawke’s visit, originally due in the last week of October, was rescheduled by the Soviet side when it appeared that the Gorbachev might travel to Washington at that time to sign an accord banning Intermediate-range nuclear forces (1.N.F.). Final details of the treaty were completed only last > week and analysts said the inclusion of Mr Hawke’s visit in the hectic last days before Mr Gorbachev leaves for Washington showed Moscow was eager to cultivate stronger ties with Australia. The first indication of a more active policy in Asia was Mr Gorbachev’s visit to the Soviet Pacific port of Vladivostok -in July, 1986. He said Moscow would try to expand its economic and cultural relations with every country in the region. The Soviet Foreign Minister, Eduard Shevardnadze, who visited Australia last March during a tour of South-east Asia, sought to allay concern that the initiative could boost' the Soviet military presence in the South Pacific. He said at the time that Moscow would limit its medium-range missiles deployed in the east of the Soviet Union. Those missiles are now to be scrapped under the “zero-zero” I.N.F. accord banning medium-range arms in both Europe and Asia.