ABSTRACT
The relationship between East and West has become markedly more dynamic, and visibly so, in the field of security policy. The Federal Republic of Germany is firmly resolved to make use of the emerging opportunities for arms control, but of course without risking our security and our order based on freedom. Arms control issues are always at the same time issues concerning strategy, for they are both concerned—though in different forums and at different levels—with the same matter: military security. The arms control policy of the West must make allowances for the military and geographical realities in Europe. The geostrategic advantage of the Soviet Union's central power position on the continent must be taken into account, requiring substantially bigger reductions on the Warsaw Pact side. The decisive prerequisite to successful arms control negotiations in the conventional field is the maintenance of political solidarity in the alliance and of an adequate deterrent and defense capability.
