SHULTZ BEGINS TALKS WITH SHEVARDNADZE
U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz
and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze met today an in
elegant Moscow mansion in pursuit of the first superpower arms
control agreement in nearly a decade.
    Shultz, accompanied by senior advisers and technical
experts, arrived from Helsinki aboard a U.S. Air Force plane
and went straight into a closed-door meeting with Shevardnadze
and Soviet negotiators.
    State Department spokesman Charles Redman told reporters
that U.S. Arms control advisers had been told not to discuss
the U.S. Proposals with the press.
    U.S. Officials have been optimistic about the possibility
of progress at the talks, scheduled to end on Wednesday.
    Shultz has been more guarded, saying that if the Soviet
officials approached the talks in the same constructive spirit
as the Americans "we should be able to move the ball along in a
very positive way."
    Shultz is expected to protest about a spying network that
has come to light at the U.S. Embassy and which has cast a
shadow over his talks. For its part the Soviet Union has said
its diplomatic missions in the United States are subjected to
surveillance and has accused Washington of "spy-mania."
    Shevardnadze met Shultz with a handshake at the door of the
ornate guest house built by a Russian merchant, now belonging
to the Foreign Ministry. Later, in the white marble room where
the discussions were being held, they had to be prompted by
photographers to shake hands again.
    "There was no instinctive warmth," an observer said.
 Reuter
