US hopes to meet USSR on Euromissiles Oct. 15

The United States and the Soviet Union are expected to begin talks on limiting medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe in Geneva on October 15, NATO sources say. US Secretary of State Edmund Muskie expects to announce final agreement on the time and place of preliminary talks after a Sept. 25 meeting with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko at the UN.

At issue is NATO's plan to deploy 572 new Pershing II and cruise missiles to rival Soviet SS-20 weapons. Moscow has also sought to include so-called forward-based systems, apparently meaning planes and submatines capable of firing missiles into Soviet territory, but Washington wants to keep these out of the talks, according to alliance sources.