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

DATE: TUESDAY, July 17, 1990                   TAG: 9007170168
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: MOSCOW                                LENGTH: Medium

MOSCOW ALLOWING NEW GERMANY TO JOIN NATO

The Soviet Union on Monday dropped its opposition to a united Germany joining NATO, removing the last major obstacle to the reunification of East and West Germany.

The breakthrough, marking a profound turn in East-West relations, was announced at a joint press conference by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl Monday, following two days of intensive talks.

"Whether we like it or not, the time will come when a united Germany will be in NATO, if that is its choice," Gorbachev told reporters. "Then, if that is its choice, to some degree and in some form, it can work together with the Soviet Union."

The two leaders reached an eight-point agreement, highlighted by the decision that Germany, upon unification, would be a sovereign country free to join whatever bloc or alliance it wished, Kohl said.

They also agreed to begin negotiations on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from East Germany and on reduction in the size of a united Germany's armed forces. Gorbachev said the West German army should be cut back from the present level of 480,000; Kohl said combined German forces after reunification would total 370,000.

Capping months of diplomatic effort during which Bonn pledged a $3 billion bank loan to Moscow as part of a $15 billion aid package, the West German chancellor flew to Moscow Saturday night. The two leaders traveled Sunday to Gorbachev's rural home region in southern Russia, where the agreement was finalized.

Soviet acquiescence to a united German membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization clears the most difficult hurdle in the unification process, virtually assuring that it will be completed by the end of this year. The Soviets, as one of the four Allied powers that divided Germany after World War II, had threatened to veto unification because of the NATO issue.

In Washington, President Bush released a statement welcoming Gorbachev's decision, saying it "demonstrates statesmanship and strengthens efforts to build enduring relationships based on cooperation."

by CNB