US asked for stiffer cuts than reported, paper says

April 14, 1983

The US arms control proposal made to the Soviet Union in Geneva called on the Soviets to make much bigger cuts in long-range nuclear missile forces than it has disclosed publicly, the Washington Post said.

It said that according to unidentified administration officials, the US proposal at the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks would require the Soviets to scrap about two-thirds of their biggest and most powerful missiles, as well as 70 percent of all their multiwarhead missiles. Officially, the proposal was described as cutting each side's intercontinental missiles to 850.