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Only a few weeks ago, the foundation for a summit seemed to have been firmly established. The U.S. and the Soviet Union had agreed in principle on a plan to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear forces from Europe. This INF agreement, which would also include the elimination of shorter-range missiles, was to form the basis for a third meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev. But now the Soviets seem to be stalling. The Kremlin postponed a Washington meeting between Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze that had been expected to take place last week. "The Soviet...
Once again, Reagan's proposed Strategic Defense Initiative may be playing a central role in the Kremlin's thinking. Gorbachev has a history of performing deft flip-flops on whether to demand SDI restrictions as a condition for other arms-control agreements. A year ago, he indicated that an INF deal could be cut separately. That led to October's Reykjavik summit. There the Soviets proposed a package deal, including acceptance of Reagan's zero option on INF in Europe along with deep cuts in strategic weapons and restrictions on SDI. The deal fell apart because Reagan felt Gorbachev...
Last February Gorbachev reversed field again, proclaiming that he was willing to unlink an INF treaty from SDI. But now that such an agreement seems close and summit fever is rising, there are signs that the Soviets are preparing to relink SDI to the package -- and perhaps even attempt a repeat of their Reykjavik public relations sandbag...
...closed ranks with its allies and endorsed Mikhail Gorbachev's "double-zero" proposal to eliminate both long- and shorter-range intermediate nuclear forces from Europe. Bonn's decision will permit NATO Foreign Ministers, meeting this week in Reykjavik, to give U.S. arms negotiators an unambiguous go-ahead for an INF agreement with the Soviets. Suddenly, the much-discussed superpower summit this fall -- at which Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan would sign an INF deal -- is beginning to look possible...
Such an accord would represent a historic arms-control breakthrough. For the first time, both sides would be compelled not only to slow the arms race but to junk hundreds of newly deployed missiles. But despite official NATO support for an INF deal, many Western leaders fear that double-zero could turn into double jeopardy for the alliance. According to the proposal's opponents, pulling those missiles out of Europe would put NATO at the mercy of superior Warsaw Pact conventional forces...