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

DATE: FRIDAY, May 18, 1990                   TAG: 9005180808
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/5   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: BONN, WEST GERMANY                                LENGTH: Short

GERMANYS SIGN TREATY ON MERGER

The two German nations today signed a historic treaty that will make them a single economic entity in less than seven weeks and introduce fragile East Germany to the rigors of capitalism.

The signing means that as of July 2, when the treaty takes effect, the four-decade division of Germany will come to an end in many ways.

However, the thorny issue of the military status of a united Germany remains to be resolved, especially the Soviet Union's rejection of proposed NATO membership for the new Germany.

Kohl reassured President Bush during a visit to Washington Thursday that a unified Germany intends to be a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Bush replied that he will tell Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev the new German state must be free to choose its own security alliances.

Their agreement that Germany must remain in NATO came at a White House meeting where they discussed the positions Bush will take at his May 30-June 4 summit with Gorbachev in Washington.

They stressed that while the Soviet Union must have reasonable assurances for its security, German NATO membership is not negotiable.

- Associated Press

by CNB