Tass Corrects Report on Radar Base Offer to U.S. - Los Angeles Times
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Tass Corrects Report on Radar Base Offer to U.S.

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Reuters

The Soviet Union is willing to dismantle equipment at a controversial radar complex in Siberia, but not the station itself, the official Tass news agency said on Friday in a correction of an earlier report.

The corrected Tass dispatch suggested Moscow was willing to dismantle equipment at the Krasnoyarsk station but not the entire complex, which the United States claims violates the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty limiting missile defenses.

The Tass report said the dismantling would satisfy U.S. concerns.

Tass’ English service reported on Tuesday that a senior Soviet arms control official, Viktor P. Karpov, said the Krasnoyarsk radar could be dismantled if the United States agreed to extend the ABM treaty.

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But on Friday, Tass said a translator’s error had caused the words “the equipment of†to be dropped from its report of Karpov’s remarks.

Tass said Karpov’s quote should have read as follows:

“If an understanding to abide by the ABM treaty, as signed in 1972, is reached, the Soviet Union will be ready to dismantle the equipment of the Krasnoyarsk radar in a verifiable way that would leave no doubts on the part of the United States.â€

Karpov is head of the Foreign Ministry’s arms control and disarmament directorate.

In Washington, U.S. officials implicitly rejected the Soviet proposal, saying Moscow should dismantle the radar without delay or preconditions.

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