Soviet reductions must come first

December 15, 1987

President Reagan said yesterday the United States will not make further reductions in nuclear weapons in Europe until the Soviets' advantages in conventional and chemical weapons are addressed. Mr. Reagan, in a speech before the Georgetown Center for International and Strategic Studies, reaffirmed his commitment to Star Wars, while saying he will press the Soviets for an ``effectively verifiable'' treaty to reduce long-range strategic nuclear weapons by 50 percent.

He also said the US will move to increase its relative strength in conventional forces and chemical weapons before negotiating further reductions in nuclear arms protecting Western Europe.

The superpowers made ``concrete progress'' on such a treaty during the summit, he said.