UNCLASSIFIED SUMMARY OF PUBLIC POSITIONS ON INF

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00363R000801900040-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 4, 2007
• Sequence Number: 40
• Publication Date: February 1, 1983
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2007/09/04: CIA-RDP85M00363R000801900040-4
. 1 February 1983
Uneassified Summary of Public Positions on INF
The Vice President's arrival and activities in Bonn were covered extensively in the West
European media. In the UK, the press focused on the growing controversy surrounding the
Thatcher government's plans for an information campaign on INF.
The British press covered the Vice President's arrival in West Germany,
emphasizing the public aspects of the trip. The Guardian again editorialized that
the problem on Ili' is not one of public relations but a growing lack of confidence
in us leadership, claiming, "Mr. Bush is not coming (to Europe) essentially for
meaningful discussions; he is coming to attract media coverage." The press also
carried a weekend interview with Foreign Secretary Pym in which he said that INF
plans could be changed or reversed over the five-year period of deployment if the
Soviets are serious in arms control talks. Pym reiterated his view that "balanced
and verifiable" disarmament is the only way to stop the arms race. The Daily
Telegraph postulated that the effect of the Bush trip "could be blunted" by Senate
criticism of Kenneth Adelman, and in an editorial assailed the Thatcher
government's public information campaign on INF. Meanwhile, the London Press
Association reported that British officials recently discussed a coordinated
campaign on INF with their West German counterparts. The Thatcher government
declined to comment on the story. (U)
West Germany The press yesterday noted a government statement that Kohl is "exceptionally
satisfied" with his talks with the Vice President and that they are in "total
agreement." The moderate Die Welt noted that West Berlin is the "proper
place-for Bush to explain US security to the Europeans." The left/center
Frankfurter Rundschau quoted the Vice President as saying he would not interfere
in the West German election campaign, but the newspaper went on to suggest that
"Reagan's preference for Kohl" made this pledge impossible to honor. The pro-CDU
paper Bonner Rundschau pointed out that the Bush trip, r flects a "qualitative
change in the Atlantic partnership." (U)
France French media yesterday cited the Vice President's efforts to dispel rumors that he
is carrying new US proposals on INF negotiations. The pro-Socialist daily Le
Matin speculated that "it is up to (the Vice President) to decide if new
compromises are urgent or opportune." Le Monde noted that the Vice President's
"principal stop is clearly Bonn and not Paris," and that he has no mandate to
negotiate. "He will raise his voice only if Reagan asks him to. He certainly
would not like it because he hates polemics....He will patiently listen to his
interlocutors and will try to smooth the angles." Figaro-Aurore's Moscow
correspondent reported that Soviet leaders are justifiably angry about the Vice
President's "propaganda tour" because it interferes with their aim of increasing
"pacifist pressure" on Bonn. (U)
Italy Reports and commentaries on the Vice President's trip dominated Italian media
throughout the weekend. Among conservative papers, Il Tempo headlined that "Bush
goes to Geneva with new proposals," and Il Giornale claimed that the Bush
mission's "failure" to unite the Allies behind deployment could destroy NATO. Of
the centrist papers, Corriere Della Sera opined that the trip's chief purpose is
to "counteract Andropov's dynamic diplomatic offensive and to keep the Allies
united." La Stampa (centrist) observed that "Bush has lobbed the ball back into
the Soviet court," while the Socialist paper Avanti claimed that the Vice
President came to Europe "without new proposals on the Eurcmissiles." (U)
USSR Soviet media have not as yet acknowledged President Reagan's public proposal for a
summit with General Secretary Andropov to sign an agreement banning all US and
Soviet intermediate-range, land-based nuclear missiles. Coverage of the first day
of the Vice President's trip was predictably negative; TASS asserted that rumors
of a softened US stance at Geneva are intended as a deceptive way of ensuring INF
deployments in Western Europe. (U)
Approved For Release 2007/09/04: CIA-RDP85M00363R000801900040-4
 Approved For Release 2007/09/04: CIA-RDP85M00363R000801900040-4
Approved For Release 2007/09/04: CIA-RDP85M00363R000801900040-4