THE WASHINGTON POST SOVIET UNION DECLINES TO ACCEPT U2 FLIGHTS OVER TURKEY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400360075-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 8, 2004
• Sequence Number: 75
• Publication Date: July 12, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

Article appeared
on page A-7
12 July 19 79
Cc~~ ~l /'J c;z tom, 1
Uniull, Deefille;5 to Accept
To J
F I ts Over, 1 urkalv
By Don Oberdorfer
Washington Post staff writer
The Soviet Union has refused to ac-
quiesce to United States reconnais-
sance flights over Turkey to aid verifi-
cation of the strategic arms limitation
treaty (SALT II), informed official
sources said yesterday.
The Russian attitude, conveyed to
Washington through diplomatic chan-
nels since an. inconclusive discussion
at the Vienna summit meeting three
weeks ago, has generated additional
U.S. interest in an alternative verifica-
tion plan involving improved radio in-
tcrception facilities in Norway,
Norwegian Prime Minister Odvar
Nordli was quoted by the Oslo news-
paper Aftenposten as saying that "if,
the United States and the Soviet Un-
ion want Norway to play a part in the
implementation of the SALT II agree-
ment, Norway would be willing to do
this.,,
Nordli's attitude was news to Amer-
ican diplomats concerned with Norwe
gian affairs, evidently because discus-
sion of the highly: sensitive questions
involving surveillance of the Soviet
Union has been carried on outside of
regular diplomatic channels.
Nordli's statement could be . inter
preted to mean that, as in the case of
Turkey, Norway will insist that the
Soviets give their assent to new U.S. '
intelligence operations designed, to
support verification of the strategic
arms limitation treaty.-'
Soviet approval o'Improved, Norwe-
gian facilities seems doubtful in view
of Moscow's refusal to cooperate on
the Turkish flights. Additional cause
for doubt is Soviet- media criticism of
the Norway bases plan following its-,
publication June 29 by The New York
Times.
A Radio Moscow broadcast earlier
this week, referring to public discus.
sion of Norwegian intelligence bases,
called the .facilitiess"yet another part
of the military presence in Scandina-
via . . . another lever for influencing
the border country's policy." The
broadcast maintained that Norwegian-
bases are not needed for verification
of SALT II and charged that they
would have "no connection" with the
C' ~, t ( T c re ~c_
Approved For Rele QQWQQIIIXG 1 41315R00040035,0075-0
Another article in the Oslo newspa-
per, however, quoted unnamed "Nor-
wegian authorities" as saying the So-
viet Union is not expected to oppose
Norway's' becoming more involved in
the monitoring of SALT'II through fa-
cilities on Norwegian soil. A Norwe-
gian defense official was quoted as
confirming that an existing listening
station in Norway, manned by Norwe
gian personnel, is capable of monitor-
ing Soviet strategic weapons systems.
The reported U.S. plan is to use the
combination of an improved American
space satellite and improvements in,
the Norwegian ground ii.tercept sta-j
tions to provide additional data on So-
viet viet missile testing performance,- Thel
information would substitute for some
of, the data previously obtained byi
U.S. monitoring stations in Iran,.;
which were near the Soviet missile
testing sites.
Verification of the highly technical
provisions of the SALT If, agreement
is a sensitive issue in the Senate de-
bate on ratification. The United States
has several methods for monitoring
Soviet weapons developments, but
there is disagreement on whether
they are precise and accurate enough
to do the job with assurance.
Detspite. the Soviet message declin.
ing o = approve U2 "reconnaissance
flights . over Turkish territory just
across the Soviet, border, U.S. officials
have not given up on that plan-to im-r
prove verification. Further talks on,
the matter both with Moscow and An-'
kara are expected.
In addition to the U2 flights, at least
five other means of improving verifi-
cation are under development by the,
United States, according to a recent
statement by Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.),I
chairman . of the House intelligence
oversight. subcommittee. '
interests of detente in Eudopprovdd For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400360075-0