Budget Blues Persist

between the USSR and the US have been more or less at a standstill, Even though the Geneva talks were resumed in 1985, both countries continued with rhe modernisation and further deployment of nuclear weapons. While the Geneva summit between Reagan and Gorbachev concluded on a high note of general agreement of intent, efforts at Reykjavik floundered on the issue of star wars. Against this background of growing apprehension and hopelessness, any move by either superpower to push the talks forward would have been welcomed. But Gorbachev's latest stand on the dismantling of Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) does more than just break the stalemate. Whatever be the political and economic factors which prompted the Soviet offer, it is without doubt a major concession to the west. Subsequent events since the announcement also point out the seriousness of the Soviet intention to de-escalate tensions in Europe.