
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 7, 1990                   TAG: 9003071712
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: newsday
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

SOVIET-MADE ROCKETS MAY VIOLATE PACT

An American military mission has spotted Soviet-made rockets in East Germany that have raised questions about a potential violation of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, according to U.S. sources.

According to U.S. sources, the U.S. military mission traveling by car through East Germany photographed what was believed to be a battalion of SS-23s bearing East German government markings. SS-23s were to be eliminated last November under the 2-year-old pact signed by President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

U.S. sources said Secretary of State James Baker has written Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze for an explanation. According to one source, the United States has not formally notified Moscow that the SS-23s, designated Spider by NATO, constitute a "material breach" of INF.

by CNB