GENEVA, JUNE 6, REUTER — U.S. and Soviet officials began work on Monday on verification of the first treaty in history to destroy an entire class of nuclear arms, a Soviet spokesman said.
Vladimir Shebanov, spokesman at the Soviet diplomatic mission in Geneva, said heads of the U.S. Soviet’ special verification commission met on Monday and a full meeting would be held on Tuesday.
The intermediate range nuclear forces treaty went into effect last week as U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev exchanged _instruments of ratification in Moscow.
It calls for unprecedented measures to ensure that both super powers destroy all their land based missiles with ranges of 5005,000 KM (3003, 400 miles) and do not build any more.
The commission will handle questions and arrangements on the verification procedure, under which officials from both sides are empowered to make intrusive visits.
“Many new questions will have to be resolved quite promptly — within 30 days after entry into force of the treaty, as provided for by its relevant provisions,” said a Soviet statement. :
In such a new and rather difficult undertaking as nuclear disarmament there may be certain aspects which will require Clarifications and agreed mutual understandings.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 10, 1988
