The United States today handed Sovietarms negotiators a draft treaty which would eliminate all
superpower medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe and slash
such weapons elsewhere to 100 warheads on each side.
    Maynard Glitman, who heads the American team discussing
medium-range nuclear forces, told reporters the document, "a
full treaty text," was now on the negotiating table.
    The proposal responds to a new Soviet offer to abolish
"Euromissiles" and cut sharply medium-range nuclear forces
elsewhere announced by Mikhail Gorbachev last Saturday.
    The developments have been described by many disarmament
experts as the first real opening for a superpower accord since
they resumed arms control talks in March 1985.
    Glitman presented the draft treaty during a one and a half
hour meeting at the American diplomatic mission with the Soviet
team on medium-range missiles headed by Lem Masterkov.
    He told reporters: "It is a complete document. It has to be
because we want precision. We don't want any ambiguities."
    The draft called for elimination - removal and destruction
- of all superpower medium-range missiles in Europe over five
years and reduction elsewhere during that period to 100 atomic
warheads on each side, Glitman added.
    In Europe, this includes 270 Soviet triple-warhead SS-20's
and 316 single-warhead U.S. Pershing-2 and cruise missiles.
 Reuter
