UNITED STATES: PRESIDENT REAGAN REAFFIRMS HIS COMMITMENT TO REDUCING NUCLEAR WEAPONS, BUT SAYS HE WILL NOT BACK DOWN ON 'STAR WARS'

Record ID: 863412

  • Title: UNITED STATES: PRESIDENT REAGAN REAFFIRMS HIS COMMITMENT TO REDUCING NUCLEAR WEAPONS, BUT SAYS HE WILL NOT BACK DOWN ON 'STAR WARS'
  • Date: 14th December 1987
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES DECEMBER 14, 1987 (REUTERS WASHINGTON D.C) SV Audience applauds as President Reagan takes podium. 0.04 CUs, SV & GV President Reagan addressing audience and cameramen filming. (English SOT) TRANSCRIPT: REAGAN: (SEQ 2) "What we have here then is a new departure in East-West relations, an effective verifiable treaty that will lead not just to arms control but to the first nuclear arms reductions in history. As another vital component of our SDI programme. As I said last Thursday in my address to the nation, when we have a strategic defence ready to deploy we will do so. It will be in this spirit that we and our allies will soon go forward to negotiate with the East on redressing the imbalances in conventional forces in Europe, while of course taking the steps we need to strengthen our own conventional forces and we attach a similar high priority to redressing, again both through negotiations and our own force modernisation, the imbalance of chemical weapons which at present favours the Soviet Union, and we are acting here with a clear understanding that these imbalances must be addressed prior to any further reductions in the nuclear forces committed to NATO." (5 SHOTS) 1.21 GV Audience applauds. 1.24 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 29th December 1987 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVACSEPVZ7CSBKBD5ZRUT6VV0OMR
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: United States (US) President Ronald Reagan said on December 14 the US would not make further reductions in nuclear weapons until the Soviets' advantage in conventional and chemical weapons was addressed. In a speech to the Centre for International and Strategic Studies, a Washington think tank, Reagan also said hhe looked forward to Senate scrutiny of the treaty to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear weapons, signed last week. At the same time, he said the US would retain a modern nuclear deterrent on the ground, in the air and at sea. In addition, he reaffirmed his commitment to the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) 'Star Wars'. The President also said he would press the Soviets for a treaty to reduce long-range strategic nuclear weapons by 50 per cent.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register