ABSTRACT
Proponents of that position are mainly concerned about a deterioration of the Western nuclear posture as a consequence of conventional arms control negotiations. It would be premature, for the time being, to predict the course or the outcome of the future Conventional Stability Talks. The main aim of the Eastern policy would then be to further undermine Western political consensus on security policy and nuclear weapons. Conventional arms control would merely be another tool of a policy aimed at depriving NATO of any nuclear weapons in Europe. If the second position were to gain the upper hand, however, substantial reductions of the WTO invasion capability eventually could result. The West, however, seems to be equally torn between two different positions. On the one hand, there is a fundamental skepticism over the feasibility of conventional arms control and the Soviet inclination to make more than symbolic concessions.
