Disarmament Let's Make a Deal

Mikhail Gorbachev's message was stunningly simple. If Washington would remove all of its medium-range missiles from Europe, Moscow would do the same. Ronald Reagan's response was no less bald: he promised to "seize this new opportunity" by presenting his Administration's own plan for a missile-free Europe. With those two moves, arms-control negotiations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which have been stalled since last October's superpower summit in Reykjavik, suddenly took off like a racing car at Le Mans. For the first time since the grimaces and recriminations of that meeting, the two leaders seemed prepared, indeed determined, to make a historic deal.

In Geneva, American and Soviet arms negotiators brought forth draft proposals for eliminating the medium-range missiles and agreed to continue talks on those weapons, which were due to adjourn last week. Then Soviet negotiators returned to Moscow for consultations, and Max Kampelman, the chief American negotiator, flew off to Brussels to brief NATO allies before continuing on to Washington to confer with President Reagan. At week's end Reagan announced that "to maintain the momentum" generated in Geneva, Secretary of State George Shultz would fly to Moscow in mid-April to confer with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze.

The initial reaction to Gorbachev's proposal was highly favorable. "This is a real breakthrough," said a spokesman for Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the West German Foreign Minister. The Kohl government, once opposed to the total removal of missiles, was now solidly behind a deal. NATO Secretary-General Lord Carrington called the offer a "substantial step forward." Secretary Shultz felt there was "some prospect, perhaps pretty good, we can get something worked out."

Both Gorbachev and Reagan, of course, have their own personal reasons for wanting a deal. For Reagan, an arms-control accord could prove to be the ticket out of his Iran-contra doldrums, restoring a golden hue to his tarnished presidency. For Gorbachev, stable relations with the U.S. are essential if he is to have the time, energy and authority to concentrate on the internal reforms he is attempting. Masterly communicators, the two leaders have created a public perception that an agreement may be within reach. "The most important thing," says a senior U.S. official, "is that arms control is on the move again."

Gorbachev's proposal calls for removal of medium-range missiles from Europe over a five-year period. Washington would withdraw 108 Pershing IIs and 464 ground-launched cruise missiles, while Moscow would dismantle 270 SS-20 missiles. The Soviets have 112 SS-4 missiles in Europe, but these are being replaced by more advanced SS-20s. Both sides would then be limited to 100 medium-range warheads, the Soviets on their Asian territory, the Americans on U.S. soil.

At last fall's summit Gorbachev insisted that cutbacks on medium-range missiles be linked to concessions on Reagan's treasured Strategic Defense Initiative. Now the Soviets are willing to discuss the missiles separately. In addition, they have signaled a greater spirit of cooperation on the two stickiest outstanding issues: verification procedures and shorter-range missiles.