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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Ready to negotiate
Wednesday, October 16, 1968
Russia wants missile talks
LONDON (UPI)—The Kremlin has changed its mind and now appears anxious for a speedy start of talks with the United States on a possible moratorium on offensive and defensive missiles, Communist diplomats said yesterday.
They said Russia now is ready to begin the negotiations, attaching only the strings that the Kremlin will make no prior promises about the duration and scope of the talks.
Having resisted negotiations on a moratorium on anti-missile defenses for a very long time, and having dragged her feet on the start of such negotiations after their approval in principle, Russia now appears anxious to make a start.
Whether this professed Soviet wish to begin early talks on a rocket moratorium with the United States is genuine remains a moot question so far.
Moscow apparently does not now expect the talks to start this
The Soviets agreed to have talks on limiting offensive as well as defensive missiles earlier this summer. But immediate American soundings produced no firm commitment at the time from the Russians for a possible starting date.
Some diplomatic observers said Russia now wants the talks to open because she wants to prove to world opinion and to her allies that the Czechoslovak invasion has not closed the door to an East-West dialogue.
Other reasons are said to lie in Moscow's consideration that the anti-missile defense buildup is too costly and too inadequate.
year, but possibly early in the new year, shortly after the inauguration of the next U.S. president.
One of the hidden motives behind Moscow's apparent eagerness to start the talks may be its uneasiness over American progress with multiple warheads for ICBMs on which the U.S. is understood to have a clear lead over Russia.
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