Word: inf
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Over the past two weeks high-level Moscow officials have told TIME that the Soviet view all along has been that any summit should, if possible, be based on what they call "INF-plus." The plus they have in mind: tying an INF deal to a "framework agreement" that spells out "key provisions" on deep reductions of strategic arms and bans the testing as well as the deployment of SDI in space...
Soviet officials maintain that Gorbachev has made a few statements this year indicating that an INF agreement on its own might not be enough to warrant a summit. "A summit must not be just a ceremonial and pompous meeting," says Georgi Arbatov, the Kremlin's best-known Americanologist. "If we have only an agreement on INF and nothing else, people will not be sure what will happen next in arms control. Therefore perhaps something should be added, perhaps at the summit itself...
...officials say they have no formal indication that the Soviets are trying to make an INF deal contingent on a framework involving SDI. "They are making tougher noises on INF," says a high-ranking Administration official, "but I have no sense that they are relinking." Another U.S. official close to the Geneva talks views Moscow's moves as typical presummit posturing. "Shock diplomacy is what they specialize in," says he. "Backtracking on ) INF linkage would be consistent with the kind of shell game we've come to expect...
Even without the SDI question, stubborn obstacles still stand in the way of an INF agreement. Under the current proposal, medium-range missiles in Europe would be dismantled, but each side would retain 100 warheads on missiles located elsewhere. The U.S. is now pushing for a "global zero" plan that would eliminate all such weapons. The Soviets have made conflicting noises about whether they might agree to this, but their official position is that they will not. Another stumbling block involves shorter-range missiles. The Soviets insist that 72 old Pershing 1A missiles in West Germany must be dismantled...
...time being, the Soviets seem content to sit back and monitor the Iran-contra hearings before taking their next step. If Reagan emerges unharmed, Gorbachev may be quick to clear away the obstacles to an INF accord and a summit. If, on the other hand, the President's reputation -- or Shultz's -- is further wounded by the hearings, the Kremlin might decide it has the upper hand. Soviet observers contend that the President, along with his political advisers, may realize that only a successful summit can deflect attention from the Iran-contra affair and assure Reagan a favorable mention...