Britain, U.S. Reach ‘Star Wars’ Accord
BRUSSELS, Belgium — Britain and the United States reached an outline agreement today on terms for British participation in President Reagan’s “Star Wars†program, British Defense Secretary Michael Heseltine said.
He told reporters after a 75-minute meeting with Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger that the accord will be submitted to the two governments for final approval.
It would make Britain the first ally to conclude a formal participation agreement in the program, formally known as the Space Defense Initiative.
Heseltine made it clear that Weinberger could not give and had not given a guarantee that Britain would receive the approximately $1.5-billion share of the program that it had requested. But he said arrangements agreed upon today should ensure that British firms receive work of that order of magnitude.
Heseltine said the accord provides for British participation in 18 areas of research on the Strategic Defense Initiative, a project to design a space-based defense against nuclear missiles.
Support for Reagan
The agreement came as NATO defense ministers, winding up a two-day meeting, declared their support for President Reagan at next month’s superpower summit and called on the Soviet Union to comply fully with existing U.S.-Soviet arms control treaties.
The ministers issued a statement in which they announced their backing for Reagan when he meets Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev in Geneva on Nov. 19-20.
“We declare that the President goes to Geneva with the full support and solidarity of the alliance,†the ministers’ statement said.
Weinberger used his appearance at the meeting to detail alleged Soviet arms control treaty violations. (Story, Page 16.)
Weinberger contended that the Soviets’ new SS-25 missile violates the 1979 SALT 2 treaty and he argued that the huge Krasnoyarsk radar station in central Siberia represents a breach of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty or ABM.
Charge ‘Double Standard’
The ministers accused the Soviets of maintaining a “double standard†by skirting treaty obligations while the West complied fully with the terms.
“We take the most serious view of this and call on the new Soviet leadership to take the steps necessary to assure full compliance with its commitments,†the ministers said in their statement.
The final declaration did not, however, specifically say North Atlantic Treaty Organization supports the U.S. “Star Wars†program.
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