NATO and Soviets trade military-buildup charges

June 18, 1982

NATO said the West has been compelled to strengthen its forces because of a continued military buildup by the Warsaw Pact in Eastern Europe.

A NATO spokesman rejected Soviet accusations that NATO moves were incompatible with the objectives of East-West negotiations here on reducing armed forces in Europe. The talks have been deadlocked over eight years.

A Warsaw Pact spokesman said the West still has not replied constructively to compromise proposals by the East, and that the NATO summit in Bonn last week gave no new impulse to the Vienna talks.