Warsaw Pact troops plan welcomed

Press, 2 July 1983, Page 11

Warsaw Pact troops plan welcomed

NZPA-Reuter Vienna N.A.T.O. yesterday gave a qualified welcome to a new Warsaw Pact proposal for . thinning out troops and weapons of the opposing alliances in central Europe, but said that it was marred by ambiguities and deficiencies. The British delegation head said that the West would study carefully the Communist move, tabled last week in the form of a draft treaty at 19-nation East-West talks in Vienna that have been going on for nearly 10 years. The Soviet Bloc draft, based on earlier Eastern proposals, envisaged both sides by-passing a protracted dispute about how many troops each has in the area at present, and agreeing to reduce their total forces to 900,000 men each over three years. The draft also provided for monitoring withdrawal of troops through voluntary invitation of observers, establishment of permanent check-points, possibilities for on-site verification, and setting up a joint commission to exchange information on military activities. Speaking for N.A.T.O.

member States, the delegation head told the conference that the draft was more precise than an earlier Warsaw Pact proposal, but an agreement must avoid ambiguity over obligations, and whether they were being implemented. It was difficult to see how troop reductions could take place without mutual understanding about what was involved and without effective verification measures. There should be detailed exchange of information from the start of the agreement. Co-operative measures to ensure implementation of the accord could not be effective if they were merely voluntary.

Sniff toll Glue and solvent sniffing have killed more than 100 people in Britain since 1980 and the practice is reaching epidemic proportions in some areas, said doctors. One family doctor told the British Medical Association’s annual meeting that 120 deaths had been attributed to solvent abuse since 1980, and called for laws to stop the practice. — Dundee.