Italian Ambassador to Moscow, Sergio Romano, writes to Foreign Minister Andreotti to dicuss the topic of the Soviet attitude towards the SDI, and the unsuccessful efforts by the Soviets to pursue a similar defense system. Even though SDI is no longer a hindrance to superpower dialogue, it would be a mistake to assume that the USSR has given up the battle against the overall missile defense system.

The document describes initial reactions to the signing of the Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War in Washington. The new agreement raises concerns over the bipolar focus of US-USSR relations, NATO's traditional strategy, and poses questions related to autonomous European defense.

A detailed evaluation of Soviet negotiation position vis-à-vis USA and Europe suggests that Moscow's willingness to agree on reductions and limitations does not meet Western needs. Gorbachev's doctrine seems to be in line with his predecessors, although increasing attention has been directed at Europe.

The 1978 fall sessions of the Eurogroup and the Defense Planning Committee discussed the Alliance's reaction to new nuclear capabilities of the Soviet Union and conventional build up of the Warsaw Pact. Even though the NATO states acknowledge that the Soviet Union will not be able to maintain its current efforts due to its economic problems, 1980s are seen as posing risks to the current peace.

Summarizes the first comments from Min. Foreign Affairs on the agreement Soviet-American for the Prevention of Nuclear War. It is said that the philosophy of this agreement appears to have contradictions with regard to the classic strategy of NATO and diminish the credibility of the latter. Conceptions NATO military will have to be updated in light of recent agreements and ongoing trends around the Russian-American bipolarity. Just because you are at a "secondary" compared to the two supergrandi, Europeans should take the opportunity arising from this new trend to seriously address the issue of their defense. The prospect more desirable at this stage is an acceleration of proesso European unification, including the appearance of its "independent" defense.