The World - News from March 18, 1987

The Soviet Union urged the 40-nation Geneva Disarmament Conference to form an international committee to make on-site inspections of all space launches to guard against deployment of space-based weapons. Chief Soviet delegate Yuri K. Nazarkin did not provide details in his speech to the conference in Geneva. However, Western delegates said the proposal is aimed at the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative, which seeks to create a space-based missile defense, and that it is similar to past Soviet suggestions. Washington says Moscow has carried out research on space weapons for years, a charge that Moscow denies.