The World : U.S. Won’t Scrap ABM Pact

The Reagan Administration has decided not to scrap the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty because of a Soviet radar station in Central Asia, the Baltimore Sun reported. Citing senior officials, the paper said the decision is a victory for Secretary of State George P. Shultz, who argued against a formal finding that the Krasnoyarsk radar station represented a “material breach” of the ABM treaty. Secretary of Defense Frank C. Carlucci had urged President Reagan to make such a declaration, which would allow the United States to immediately abrogate or suspend compliance with the treaty. The officials said the decision does not indicate any letup in U.S. efforts to persuade the Soviets to destroy the Krasnoyarsk facility as a “serious violation” of the treaty.