Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, meeting with East German Premier Hans Modrow, dismissed the idea Tuesday of a united Germany being a member of NATO, Soviet officials said.
Modrow, who departed for home after a two-day visit, met both the Soviet president and Premier Nikolai Ryzhkov for talks on German reunification. Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady Gerasimov said unequivocally that Gorbachev "dismissed the idea of a united Germany remaining in NATO."East German spokesman Wolfgang Maier, who also briefed the press, said a new united German state could not be a part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. "The two sides agreed that the inclusion of one Germany in NATO is unacceptable because it would be a threat to European security," Maier said.
Gorbachev has accepted the idea of a united Germany, but he has said the four Allied powers and two Germanys must decide on security concerns such as participation in military blocs. East Germany is a member of the Warsaw Pact while West Germany is in NATO.
The Soviet side has proposed that the so-called four-plus-two talks - involving the Soviet Union, Britain, France and the United States plus the two Germanys - should deal with issues other than internal problems caused by creating a single Germany.
In Brussels, West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher confirmed Monday that the officials of the four World War II allies will start talks next week with representatives from the two Germanys. Gerasimov said he did not know the date for such talks. A site also has not been agreed on.