Word: berliner
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Brandt had hoped that the Soviets were so eager for West German trade and technology that they would be willing to guarantee the economic viability of the city and improve the lot of West Berliners by safeguarding the access routes between West Berlin and West Germany. Otherwise, Western firms will leave, and their exodus would cause an economic and psychological crisis in the isolated city...
...that they were prepared to be reasonable. But last December's consumer riots in Poland seem to have made them less flexible. East Germany's Walter Ulbricht, who at 77 is the self-proclaimed dean of Soviet-style Communism, warned Moscow that accommodation with the West over Berlin without diplomatic recognition of East Germany would undermine his position, and that what happened in Poland could be repeated in East Germany...
Some Western diplomats still insist that a West Berlin accord will be reached -some day. But the fact is that the Soviets and the West are at present so far apart that no agreement can be hoped for within the foreseeable future unless one side or the other drastically alters its stand. After last week's session ended, TIME'S Bonn Bureau Chief Benjamin Gate managed to obtain a picture of the Western and Soviet positions. The major issues...
ACCESS. West Berlin is linked to its markets in West Germany by three autobahn routes, four rail lines and four waterways. The Allied powers insist that the Soviet Union must ensure the right of free passage between West Germany and West Berlin. The Western powers, for example, have proposed sealed trains that would roll untouched through East Germany. The Soviets refuse. They maintain that since the routes pass through the German Democratic Republic, it is up to the West Germans and West Berliners to negotiate with the East Germans. Such an agreement would mean that the West recognizes East German...
VISITING RIGHTS. Of West Berlin's 2,100,000 citizens, 500,000 have relatives among East Berlin's 1,100,000 residents. Although West Germans have almost free access to the Communist sector of the divided former capital, West Berliners are not allowed to pass through the Wall except in emergencies. The Allies claim this is unfair discrimination. Moscow's position is that West Berlin's senate should enter into direct negotiations with East Germany...