Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 14, 1990 TAG: 9003143052
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/4 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BONN, WEST GERMANY LENGTH: Medium
The meeting came a day after West Germany said Poland, which is concerned about possible German designs on its territory, could take part in discussions on a united Germany's borders.
No decisions were expected in today's preliminary round of discussions by lower-level officials from the two Germanys and the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain and France.
The one-day talks are part of the "two-plus-four" formula of unification discussions agreed on last month in Ottawa. There has not been any announcement on the timing or place of the next round.
Today's discussions were expected to be mainly procedural. East Germany is holding its first free elections on Sunday and there is thus uncertainty as to who will be representing it at the next round of talks.
Eighteen officials from the six nations began the meeting at an enormous round table inside the West German Foreign Ministry.
Journalists and television teams rushed inside the room to photograph and see the delegates, but were allowed to stay only about five minutes.
No opening statement was made to reporters.
West German TV said the officials would discuss alternating the sites of the next meetings in the capitals of the "participating countries." It gave no details.
The chief East German delegate, Deputy Foreign Minister Ernst Krabatsch, made a few comments to journalists as he was sitting at the table.
He reiterated that East Germany favors the participation of all concerned nations in unification talks at some level.
"We've always favored . . . including neighboring countries, all interested countries, including Poland," he said.
On Tuesday, West Germany said Poland could take part in discussions on a united Germany's borders, but it remained unclear whether that meant Poland would actually have a voice in the six-power talks or whether it would be involved in discussions in some other way.
Chancellor Helmut Kohl of West Germany heightened international jitters by at first refusing to state unequivocally that a united Germany would not claim lands ceded to Poland after the Third Reich's defeat in 1945.
He has since said a united Germany must sign a border treaty with Poland, but the Poles are not satisfied with his stated position.
Kohl has come under intense international scrutiny for trying to push unification at a pace that has worried the Soviets as well as some of West Germany's close friends and neighbors.
During the past few days, Kohl has launched a campaign aimed at soothing any bad feelings his handling of the unification process may have created, vowing unity will not occur behind other nations' backs.
Volker Ruehe, general secretary of Kohl's Christian Democratic Union, told reporters Tuesday that unification cannot be completed "as long as the external questions . . . are not settled."
Ruehe said unification would likely come "in steps" under Article 23 of West Germany's constitution, which allows for East German states to decide to join with their western neighbor.
by CNB