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

DATE: FRIDAY, July 6, 1990                   TAG: 9007060375
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LONDON                                LENGTH: Medium

ALLIES ASK FOR ACCORD WITH EAST

NATO's foreign ministers agreed early today on a draft communique inviting the Warsaw Pact to sign a mutual non-aggression agreement with the West, diplomatic sources said.

The tentative proposal "is basically stating that various countries who sign it are no longer adversaries and should refrain from threat or use of force," one source said.

The communique, to be presented to the heads of state for final approval later today, also included an invitation, as proposed by President Bush, for Mikhail Gorbachev and other Warsaw Pact leaders to address a NATO gathering in Brussels later in the year, officials said.

The sources, who discussed the draft communique on condition they not be identified, said it also calls for establishing "diplomatic liaison" between the military alliances and proposes the eventual elimination of nuclear artillery shells in the region by "reciprocal arrangement."

On another major point, the document would certify Bush's proposed shift in longstanding NATO strategy regarding the possible use of nuclear weapons in the face of superior conventional forces. The communique would describe them as weapons of "last resort," but still make clear that using them was not ruled out - a point insisted upon by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Dutch Foreign Minister Hans van den Broek confirmed "We have reached agreement on a communique" as the ministers left Lancaster House, their gathering place. "We are 99 percent agreed," he said.

It was Bush who pushed Thursday for the declaration that NATO's use of nuclear weapons would be a highly unlikely last resort, and for inviting Warsaw Pact leaders to meet directly with their NATO counterparts.

Bush's eye-catching proposals reflected recognition by the 41-year-old alliance of the easing of East-West tensions in Europe and the unraveling of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact.

"We are reaching out to old adversaries to emphasize NATO's defensive character and desire to cooperate with adversaries," said Marlin Fitzwater, the president's spokesman.

French presidential spokesman Hubert Vedrine said the invitation to Gorbachev, which also would be extended to other Soviet-bloc leaders, was readily approved.

Gorbachev aide Georgy Shakhnazarov said earlier Thursday that the Soviet leader was prepared to accept such an invitation.

by CNB