U.S., RUSSIANS TALK AGAIN ON TROOPS IN CUBA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000100180051-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 20, 2007
• Sequence Number: 51
• Publication Date: September 12, 1979
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2007/06/20: CIA-RDP99-00498R000100180051-9
~ i iC_'E . P ??r-B WS=N TTON STAR t!GREr i Lflr
? 2 SE'BR 19'9
U.S., ussia s
l alk Again on
Hoops in a..1
Kissinger told reporters after
lunch that Vance had his "full sup-
port." Accepting the administra-
tion's position on the nature of the
2,000 to 3,000 Soviet soldiers, he said
that "the presence of the Soviet com-
bat unit is unacceptable.
"How the presence is ended is the
subject of negotiations, and I don't
think I ought to go into tactics," Kis-
singer said.
By Henry S. Bradsher
and Lance Gay
'Nash i ngton Star Staff Writers
Against a background of growing
U.S. concern over Cuba's rising mili
tart' strength. Soviet-American dis-
cussions resume today on Soviet
troops stationed in Cuba.
Vance, Byrd Meet
Vance later went to the Senate to
meet Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd
and the chairman of the foreign
relations committee
Frank Church
,
.
Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance
Byrd urged the Senate to "keep cool"
and Soviet Ambassador Anatoly F M and "avoid a panic atmosphere."
Dobr
nin sched
l
d
d
d
y
u
e
a secon
roun
of discussions on their governments'
conflicting views. They disagree
whether the Soviet troops constitute
a combat unit or just a training mis-
sion.
President Carter has called them a
combat brigade whose presence is
not acceptable. The Soviet news-
paper Pravda said they were run-.
But Jackson was calling. in both
interviews and a Senate speech for
stronger action than the administra-
tion has publicly considered. He said
the United States must insist that
limits be placed on the kind of mili-
tary equipment that Moscow can pro-
vide to the Cuban armed forces-
Jackson said the Soviets have al-
under a defense program that is "an,
inalienable right of two sovereign-
states." - '
But the Pravda line that training
Cubans to use Soviet military equip-
ment should be acceptable came
under attack in a broadening of the
controversy. The attack was led by
Sen. Henry M. Jackson, D-Wash. A
lending opponent of the new strate-
gic arms limitations treaty, SALT II,
Jackson is often publicly suspicious
of Soviet activities.
Hei--zt y;sterd y that iust get-
_ting rid of Soviet combat troops was These must be removed from the is-
not enough. He wanted also to re- land, Jackson contended.
verse the buildup of Cuban military More ominous, during the past
strength with Soviet armaments that. year the Soviets have supplied the
has been going on since the Cuban I
army began operating in Africa al-
most four years ago in support of
Kremlin policies.
Jackson's comments came as the
administration restudied its cvi-
dence of a combat brigade. following
the Pravda denial. The new study
came between Vance's first discus-
sion of the subject with Dobrynin on
Monday and today's meeting.
Dobrynin had consulted Moscow
during the interim. U.S. officials,
who kept tight secrecy around the
talks. expected further consultations
to be needed and the talks to con-
tinue for a while. They continued to
talk of a negotiated solution to the
problem.
Vance discussed the situation yes-?
terday morning with Defense Secre-
tary Harold Brown, Director of Cen-
tral Intelligence Stans t~ e dI'nrne-r
an National Security Adviser 'L ig-
niew Brzezinski. Brzezinski later
briefed Carter. Vance lunched. with
submarine that could pose a "major
threat to our oil supplies" and are
building up a sophisticated weapons
system on the island..
"In the last two years, we have
begun to see the development of
'Fortress Cuba,' a major upgrading of
the combat capabilities of the Cuban
armed forces," Jackson said.
He recalled previous revelations
that Soviet-made Mi.G-23 ground at-
tack warplanes have been supplied
ble of carrying nuclear weapons.
Cubans with their first attack
submarine capability," Jackson- said.
"They have introduced two boats:
one is a training unit, the other is a
combat unit. Cuba has no experi-
ence in submarine warfaref'
The submarine is capable of lay
ing mines off the U.S. coast, Jackson
said, and "in numbers, they would
constitute a major threat to our oil
supplies.
"Under no circumstances should
the Soviet Union be allowed to pro-
vide Cuba with additional subma-
rines, or other naval forces with the
reach to threaten our ports or our
shipping," Jackson said.
Meanwhile it was disclosed that a
Defense Intelligence Agencv, report
gc to a house subcommittee last
April shows- that Cuba has
progressed from getting second-
issue military equipment to getting
sophisticated armaments. .
Those armaments include new
Tuyra-class hydrofoil patrol boats
that can be armed with. torpedoes
and guns, plus new amphibious
armored infantry vehicles and heli-
copter gunships. The intelligence re-
port says that tuba is a first nation
outside of Russia- itself to get the
newTuyra craft.
Citing the MiG-23 presence as evi-
dence, retired U.S. Army Gen. John
K. Singlaub said yesterday that the
Soviet troops' task in Cuba was to
protect nuclear missiles.
"I know there are nuclear missiles'
in Cuba. The U.S. Intelligence estab-
lishment knows there are nuclear +
missiles in Cuba. And President Car-
ter knows there are nuclear missiles
in Cuba," Singlaub said in an inter-
view with the Norwich (Conn.)
Bulletin.
Singlaub, who lost his command
in South Korea in 1977 when he criti-
cized Carter's plans to'withdraw U.S.
troops from South Korea, said he
learned of the Soviet nuclear pres-
ence in Cuba from his former col-
leagues in the military.
Today, however, Singlaub said he
had no factual knowledge that there
are nuclear missiles in Cuba or that
Soviet troops are there to guard
them.
But Sen. Richard Stone, D-FIa.,
who first. raised. the issue of the
Soviet presence in Cuba in July, told
the Bulletin that when he asked
several senior Carter administration
officials to confirm Singlaub's story,
he was told there was "absolutely no {
truth to it."
STAT
STAT
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