Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site whuxl.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!houxm!whuxl!orb From: orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) Newsgroups: net.followup,net.politics Subject: Re: Re: US-USSR talks Message-ID: <248@whuxl.UUCP> Date: Fri, 21-Sep-84 08:29:15 EDT Article-I.D.: whuxl.248 Posted: Fri Sep 21 08:29:15 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 25-Sep-84 20:44:12 EDT References: <557@ttds.UUCP> <388@vu44.UUCP> <566@ttds.UUCP> <5976@mcvax.UUCP> Organization: Bell Labs Lines: 28 > > Lately it seems as though the Reagan administration have changed their > > (official) manner of speech and the forthcoming talks between mr Reagan and > > mr Gromyko cannot be anything but welcomed. > > I agree that the talks must be welcomed. Funny that the Reagan > administration's manner has changed like this, just when elections are > coming up. > > Steven Pemberton, CWI, Amsterdam; steven@mcvax However, besides serving Reagan's political purposes in the upcoming election, the talks are not epic-breaking--the surprise is not that Reagan is finally meeting the Soviet Foreign Minister but that he has not done so until just before the election. It has been a regular practice of past Presidents to meet with the Soviet Foreign Minister before the UN sessions. Reagan has also made absolutely no offers to reciprocate the Soviets moratorium on space-weapons testing, or to make any new offers of arms control. Nor has he suggested sending any of the 5 arms control treaties already negotiated to the Senate for ratification. Nor has he brought any charges that the Soviets are violating past agreements to the Standing Consultative Committee--instead his administration is about to issue another report accusing the Soviets of violating arms agreements without doing anything about such violations, if they have, in fact, occurred. I think we can tell therefore the basic nature of Reagan's approach to arms control, as usual-none. Tim Sevener Bell Labs, Whippany whuxl!orb