NICARAGUA AGAIN OFFERS TO TALK PEACE WITH U.S., BUT WASHINGTON IS SKEPTICAL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000403560005-2
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 26, 2012
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: April 18, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/26: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403560005-2
WALL STREET JOURNAL
ART'f~ ,_ is APrr.ARE
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Nicaragua Again Offers to Talk Peace
ON PAGE
With U.S., but Washington Is Skeptical
By CLIFFORD KRAVss
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
MANAGUA, Nicaragua - President
Daniel Ortega said he is ready to negotiate
and sign with the U.S. a mutual security
treaty that would convert Central America
into "a neutral zone" free of East-West
competition.
In a one-hour interview Wednesday
night, only hours after the U.S. House of
Representatives
shelved President
Reagan's $100 mil-
lion aid package for
Contra guerrillas
trying to destabilize
Mr. Ortega's Sandin-
ista government, the
Nicaraguan presi-
dent said he is ready
to compromise on
certain issues that
concern the U.S., in-
cluding alleged San-
dinista aid to Cen-
tral American leftist
guerrilla groups.
He suggested, however, that his govern-
ment intends to expand its armed forces
and seek more foreign military support if
Congress eventually passes the administra-
tion's program.
If the U.S. is fearful that Nicaragua
will transform itself into a military base of
an outside power," he said, "Nicaragua is
ready to compromise, to sign treaties to
assure the security of Nicaragua and the
security of the U.S."
In the past, the U.S. has pushed for spe-
cific verification procedures to back up
such promises by Mr. Ortega, who pre-
viously has offered to negotiate a security
treaty. American officials also say the U.S.
reserves the right to hold military maneu-
vers in the area with the consent of host
countries, that it wants a regional agree-
ment rather than a bilateral one and that it
demands democratic reforms within Nica-
ragua.
U.S. Response
Responding to Mr. Ortega, a Reagan
administration official said Nicaragua was
attempting to compensate for the uncom-
promising stance it took two weeks ago at
a Contaoora-group peace conference in
Panama City, where Nicaraguan represen-
tatives refused to agree to a peace treaty
commitment, saying they couldn't comply
until the U.S. stops its "aggression."
The Reagan official said Mr. Ortega's
proposals were "something like what was
available" during nine U.S.-Nicaragua ne-
gotiating sessions held in Mexico in Janu.
ary last year. "Ortega wants to get back to
the line of scrimmage," he said.
The official added that the proposals
"will be rendered unserious" because they
were made to the press instead of through
diplomatic channels.
Speaking in the offices of the ruling
Sandinista directorate, Mr. Ortega said
that, in proposing a bilateral peace treaty
with the U.S., Nicaragua was ready to
agree to withdrawal of all foreign military
advisers and refuse to aid "irregular
forces" in the region. In exchange, he said,
the U.S. would have to halt its military
pressure on Nicaragua and end military
maneuvers in the region. U.S. officials
have said in the past that the prospect of
direct negotiations between Nicaragua and
the U.S. makes U.S. allies in the region
nervous.
On military matters, Mr. Ortega said he
intends to retain a 10-to-1 manpower ad-
vantage over the Contra forces. If Con-
gress approves the administration's aid
program and increases the size of Contra
forces to 35,000 men, the Sandinistas will
need 350,000 men under arms, he said, its
army, militia and reserves currently num-
ber about 200,000.
U.S. Advisers With Contras?
Mr. Ortega claimed that a handful of
U.S. advisers without the authorization of
Congress have been stationed in Contra
camps in Honduras since Easter week,
when the Sandinista army crossed the Hon-
duran border to attack the camps. Speak-
ing of the alleged advisers, he warned,
"They run the risk of death. It's a war
zone. "
(A Western source with access to intel-
ligence information said Mr. Ortega's
charge ' isn't totally wrong." The source
spoke of "one or two" Central Intelligence
Agency liaison people who regularly visit
the camps, but he contended they aren't
advisers.)
Mr. Ortega claimed the Contras have
been neutralized. "I'm optimistic," . he
said. But he added: "There is a dangerous
tendency. When the Contras are defeated,
the danger increases of a direct involve-
ment of the U.S., including an invasion.
It's a process of Vietnamization."
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/01/26: CIA-RDP90-00965R000403560005-2