World Notes

With the Soviets apparently reverting to their old treaty-cheating ways, negotiations on a pact covering conventional forces in Europe broke down in Vienna last week. Just three months after George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev signed a CFE agreement, U.S. officials apparently felt that the Soviets have been giving them highly suspect estimates of weapons in the treaty region and decided to postpone further formal meetings until March 21. In secret documents, the Soviets assert that they have only 21,000 tanks in Europe; the U.S. says the real number is 42,000. The U.S. expected a tally of 58,000 armored combat vehicles, but the Soviets counted only 28,000. The Soviets say they have only 13,000 pieces of artillery in the area; the U.S. says 52,000. Negotiators complain that the Soviets also plan to transfer 20,000 men and 4,000 weapons to the naval infantry, which is not covered by the pact.

The Soviets argue that these weapons were all moved out of the treaty area under unilateral cutbacks announced earlier by Gorbachev, but Congress is unlikely to be swayed. Administration officials conclude that the CFE pact, once virtually assured of Senate ratification, cannot be submitted for a vote until the ambiguities are cleared up.