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Page 12/The Battalion/Friday, April 22, 1988
World and Nation
Atmosphere favorable in wake
of accord, but no breakthrough
MOSCOW (AP) — Soviet Foreign
Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze
and U.S. Secretary of State George
P. Shultz discussed human rights
and regional conflicts Thursday but
reached no breakthroughs despite a
“constructive atmosphere” and less
contention over Afghanistan.
Last week’s signing of an accord
setting a May 15 start for the with
drawal of Soviet troops from Af
ghanistan “certainly has been a posi-
t i v e development,” State
Department spokesman Charles
Redman said.
He said the apparent im
provement in the Afghanistan situa
tion made that issue less contentious,
but that the war and its consequences
were not a “closed book.” Questions
of monitoring the pullout and help
ing Afghan refugees continue to
confront U.S. and Soviet of ficials, he
said.
Both Redman and Foreign Min
istry spokesman Vadim Perfiliev
praised the mood at the talks be
tween Shultz and Shevardnadze,
who have been meeting monthly
since February in preparation for
the Moscow summit meeting that be
gins May 29.
Perfiliev described the exchanges
as being held in “a constructive at
mosphere,” and Redman said the
ministers have made it their practice
to get down to serious work on the
issues that divide them.
“I would say that as always there is
a good atmosphere at the talks,”
Redman said.
A U.S. official who spoke on con
dition of anonymity said the meet
ings had produced “a modicum of
Reagan concerned about treaty ratification
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) —President Reagan said
Thursday he is “very concerned” that the Senate may
not ratify the pending U.S.-Soviet arms control treaty
before he goes to Moscow for summit talks with Soviet
leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.
In a question-and-answer session after a speech to the
World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts, Rea
gan was asked by a law student what the effect on the
talks would be if the Senate had not yet ratified the
treaty.
“I think it would be very upsetting and would put a
strain on the summit if the Senate has not ratified the
treaty by the time we go there,” the president said.
“We hope and pray that they will, but their schedul
ing of it has been such that I am very concerned we may
have to go without having had it ratif ied,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va.,
said the Senate won’t rush to ratify the treaty.
“We want a good treaty, that is our objective,” Byrd
said, telling reporters that the approach of the Moscow
summit “doesn’t guide me at all.”
He added: “I’m not going to rush to judgment.”
The pending treaty, covering intermediate and
shorter-range missiles, was signed by Reagan and Gor
bachev at their summit meeting in Washington in De
cember.
When the two leaders meet again in Moscow May 29
to June 2, one of the issues confronting them will be a
treaty still being negotiated that would cover longer-
range intercontinental nuclear missiles.
Of this treaty, Reagan said, “There is a great Question
as to whether it could be ready for signature at tne sum
mit.”
“We don’t want a fast treaty,” he said. “We want a
good one.”
On another issue, the president was asked about a
trade bill being considered on Capitol Hill. Reagan said
that if it reaches his desk in its present form, he will veto
it.
He also said he would immediately ask Congress to
enact a new bill that did not contain provisions to which
the administration objects.
progress” on several fronts.
He said arms control experts met
in a working session while Shultz
and Shevardnadze agreed on proce
dures for joint experiments in nu
clear testing to begin in July, at both
the U.S. test range in Nevada and at
the Soviet facility in Semipalatinsk.
Soviet officials also introduced
proposed new language outlining
the Kremlin’s stand on space-based
weaponry, but U.S. negotiators were
not immediately sure how to assess it
pending translation.
“They were good, solid, business
like meetings,” the of ficial said, but
he added, “I don’t have anything of
a breakthrough to point to.”
Shultz flew in from Helsinki, Fin
land, early in the day for what is ex
pected to he his last working session
in the Soviet capital before President
Reagan’s visit.
A meeting with Mikhail S. Gorba
chev and discussions on arms con
trol, including the dimming pros
pects for concluding a treaty halving
strategic weapons stockpiles before
the summit, were on Shultz’s agenda
for Friday.
Gorbachev and Reagan signed an
accord ridding both of their nations
of medium- and shorter-range mis
siles at the December summit. They
called at the time for another pact
cutting strategic arms by 50 percent,
but negotiations in Geneva have
been proceeding slowly.
U.S. officials have said that prob
lems in verifying compliance with
the accord and a dispute over space-
based defenses are holding up an
agreement.
Redman told reporters at a brief
ing that as usual, Shultz began his
talks with Shevardnadze on humani
tarian issues, like the plight of Soviet
Jews refused permission to emigrate
and each side’s contention that basic
freedoms are infringed in the other
country.
|I
La Blanca
swimweai;
nautical
and nice
World Briefs
No smoking takes effect on flights
WASHINGTON (AP) —
The federal ban on cigarette
smoking on domestic flights of
two hours or less — about 80 per
cent of the total — takes effect at
12:01 a.m. Saturday. Before
hand, some avid smokers are re
considering train travel while oth
ers search for ways to keep their
tobacco urges under control, at
least for a few hours.
Government and airline
try officials said Thnrsdav
expect the new smokingresii
tions to cause few problem
though some confusionmayii
for the first few days.
“On the whole 1 thinkw'n
reasonably good shape out
Fransportation Secretan
Burnley said.
NASA completes test of new boostei
i/ol
BRIGHAM CITY, Utah (AP)
— A full-scale firing of the rede
signed space shuttle booster
rocket Wednesday was cautiously
hailed as a step toward America’s
resumption of manned space
flights next August.
But Morton Thiokol and
NASA officials said it will take a
week to 10 days to verify that the
two-minute test, the first of three
final tests required beforeii
tie launch, was a complwJ
cess.
The test was the first(i
firing in which deliberaej
were introduced in critical
seals, one of which failtcj
caused the destruction i
shuttle Challenger 2i i
ago.
FCC fines two dial-a-porn operate
WASHINGTON (AP) —The
Federal Communications Com
mission on Thursday ordered
two California dial-a-porn opera
tors to pay fines totaling $1.2 mil
lion for failing to restrict access of
obscene messages to children and
non-consenting adults.
The companies, Audiol
prises. Inc., and Inttrc
“It’s time we took steps,” said
FCC Commissioner James H.
Quello. "The ultimate in sleaze
deserves the ultimate . . . penal
ty”
Inc ., were each finedifti
for violation of statues k
the interstate transmis
obscene material and fiiss
restrict such transmission!d
minors and non-con
adults.
An FCC spokesman, i
Brock, _said the $600">:
were based on the at
money the companies n
ing the commission's me: j
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