CARTER PRESSED BREZHNEV AT VIENNA TO ALLOW U-2 FLIGHTS OVER TURKEY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400370016-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 16, 2004
• Sequence Number: 16
• Publication Date: June 22, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

ON
pproved For Relea12OOSK)1118/IA-RDP88-0131
22 Ja1r, 1979
IV I
r Press~'dBrezhnev 'Vienna
To Allow U-2 Flights Over Turkey',
By HE DRICK SMITH
Spedal to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, June 21 - At their -
Vienna meeting last weekend, President
Carter raised with Leonid I. Brezhnev,
the Soviet leader, Washington's desire to
fly U-2 aircraft over Turkey to monitor
Moscow's compliance with the new
strategic-arms agreement, but the issue
has not yet been resolved, Administration
sources disclosed today.
At a breakfast meeting with reporters,
Secretary of Defense Harold Brown re-
vealed that the U-2 flights had been
raised at the summit meeting, but he de-
clined to go into details or to say at what
level they had been discussed. Other Ad-
ministration sources, however, reported
that President Carter had brought the
subject up with Mr: Brezhnev at their 90-
minute private meeting on Monday
morning, the final day of their talks.
"The subject came up at least indirect-
ly," Mr. Brown said. "I don't think we're
prepared to announce any resolution
yet." He was noncommittal when asked if
the Soviet response had been encourag-
ing. "I'm neither encouraged nor dis-
couraged," he said. I ;
In a broad-ranging hourlong" discus-
slop, Mr. Brown revealed. that the Admin-
istration would have to decide within six
months whether to increase the number
of warheads on some submarine-
launched missiles or the number of bomb-
ers on 24-hour alert to compensate for the
Soviet threat to American land-based
missiles..
Other Topics Discussed
On a number of other topics, -Mr.
Brown made these points: .
19The first one-quarter to one-third of
the planned 200 MX mobile missiles
would be based on existing military in-
stallations in the West and that by fencing
in only a 100-foot wide area along the 20-
mile trench planned for each missile, the
program would use no more- than 100
square miles - far less than environmen-
tal critics of the program had feared.
cNew American cruise missiles and
submarine-launched ? Trident :missiles
would have sufficient accuracy, in the late
1980's or by about 1990 to destroy Soviet
land-based missile silos.
to the contention of liberal
9Contrary
critics, the Carter Administration has not
altered or destabilized the strategic bal-
ance with the Soviet Union by deciding to
go ahead with the MX missile, because
the Soviet Union took the first step, by
building the large SS-18 missile and be-
cause weapons technology has developed
so rapidly that land-based missile sys-
tems are "inevitably" going to be vulner-
able to destruction in the 1980's.
Contrary to the contention of conser-
vative critics, he does not believe the,
Soviet Union will achieve strategic su-
periority over the United States in the
1980's, though it will lead in some weap.
ons categories just as the United States
will lead in others.
IAfter an internal debate, intelligence
officials have agreed that North Korea
has a larger army than was estimated
when President Carter decided in 1977 to
begin withdrawing American ground
forces from South Korea, but "no conclu-
sion is going to be reached" on whether to
halt the American pullout until after
President Carter's forthcoming visit. to
Seoul. : k ..
Sharp Point of Controversy
The U-2 flights over Turkey have be-
come a sharp and delicate point of contro.
versy in the early maneuvering for Sen-
ate approval of the arms treaty because
they affect the American capability to{
check any Soviet violations of the arms
treaty signed in Vienna last Monday..
The Carter Administration has sought
to use U-2 flights to replace some of the
monitoring of Soviet missile tests that
had been carried out by two electronic lis-
tening posts in Iran. The United States
was forced to evacuate those posts in
February after the overthrow of Shah
Mohammed Riza Pahlevl.
Special Mission Sent to Turkey
In late May,. Washington sent a special
high-level mission to Turkey to seek per-
mission to use Turkish airspace for U-2
aircraft carrying special electronic
equipment, but Prime Minister Bulent
Ecevit replied that he would agree only if
Moscow gave its consent.
Five days later, on May 28, a high-level
visitor from Moscow to Turkey, Aleksei
P. Shitikov, a ranking figure in the su-
preme Soviet, the nominal Parliament,
told reporters that Moscow would react
positively if Turkey was to turn down the
American request.
That left it for the Americans to raise
the issue directly with the Soviet, leader-.
ship in Vienna. Throughout the summit
meeting, American negotiators continu-
ally reported that the issue had not come
up, though on the last day they had no de-
tails on the private meeting between
President Carter and Mr. Brezhnev. Not
until today was it disclosed that the mat
ter was raised in that session. .
Approved For Release 2005/01/12 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400370016-4