Word: schmidts
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...meetings that followed during the next two days, Schmidt was his usual bristly, outspoken self. One of his primary concerns was what he perceives as the Administration's strident saber-rattling against the Soviet Union. The Chancellor has become increasingly critical of Soviet expansionism in the past year. At the same time he fears that the U.S. is not trying hard enough to open a dialogue with the Soviets and thus defuse East-West tensions. "Schmidt wants to be assured that our policy toward the Soviet Union is more than one of simple hostility," said a senior U.S. diplomat...
East-West relations were discussed at length by the two leaders. They conferred twice in the Oval Office, with each meeting lasting about an hour. Top aides for both men were present, and Schmidt did most of the talking. (He brought an interpreter, but his English is almost flawless.) Reagan once again assured Schmidt that the U.S. intends to live up to the 1979 NATO agreement that calls for stationing 572 medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe on condition that the U.S. and Soviets begin talks about a mutual, balanced reduction of the number of missiles on the Continent...
...President also reiterated a pledge, made by Secretary of State Alexander Haig at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Rome last month, that negotiations would start before the end of the year. Though Schmidt prefers that the talks begin in early autumn, he did not expect Reagan to move up the timetable and thus had to be satisfied with the President's assurances...
...Schmidt also complained about the impact of U.S. economic policies on Western Europe. He contended that America is fostering unreasonably high interest rates, which in turn inflate the value of the dollar abroad and raise the price of German imports, most notably oil. Over the past two years, Germany's balance of payments deficit ballooned from 9.6 billion deutsche marks in 1979 to 29 billion in 1980. The President told Schmidt that he expected interest rates to drop dramatically in the U.S. once his economic program was in effect...
...talks covered a wide array of subjects, ranging from Poland to the Middle East to the Third World. Still stung by Giscard's defeat, Schmidt predicted that incoming President François Mitterrand's economic program would quickly pose problems for France. Yet Schmidt also stressed that the new French leader should be welcomed into the Western alliance, and he offered to stop in Paris on his way home to deliver greetings from Reagan to Mitterrand. The offer was quickly accepted...