a020  2354  18 Dec 85
PM-Comecon, Bjt,0621
East Bloc Economic Group Says Science Program Not an Answer to ''Star
Wars''
By CAROL J. WILLIAMS
Associated Press Writer
    MOSCOW (AP) - The Soviet bloc's economic alliance is launching a
high-tech research program to revitalize communist economies with
robots, computers and software, but contends the plan is not its
answer to the U.S. ''Star Wars'' space weapons project.
    The 10-nation Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, or COMECON,
said at the end of a two-day meeting on Wednesday that the Science
and Technology Advancement Program is aimed at pooling resources and
ensuring integrated technologies for the East bloc, whose goods are
now often not competitive on foreign markets.
    Western experts say the Soviet Union and its allies are far behind
in adapting their industries and services to new technologies.
Purchases in most Soviet stores are still totaled on an abacus, and
offices mostly depend on paper records rather than computer files.
    Soviet Premier Nikolai Ryzhkov told COMECON representatives at a
Kremlin reception that the program ''will be of historical
significance for the development of the member countries and make it
possible to raise their national economy to a qualitatively new
stage.''
    Officials of the Soviet State Committee for Science and Technology
held a news conference to discuss the program and the European
COMECON nations' plan for a facility called ''Interrobot'' where
robots would be built.
    Committee chairman Gury Marchuk said the science advancement
program, running through the year 2000, will begin with research and
development projects and then produce high-tech goods like computers
and software.
    The committee members were asked whether COMECON's campaign for
technological advancement was the Soviet response to the U.S.
Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as Star Wars, or the West
European project called Eureka that seeks joint development of high
technology.
    Committee member Werner Liebig, identifed as a COMECON deputy
secretary, said the U.S. research into a space-based system to defend
against enemy missiles ''is aimed at the arms race and the
militarization of outer space and is not at all compatible with our
program.''
    ''Our program is not connected with the arms race,'' he said.
    Member Vyacheslav Sychev said the decision to accelerate science and
technology was made at the June 1984 COMECON summit, long before
Eureka was proposed by French President Francois Mitterrand.
    Marchuk said ''common funds'' from the COMECON nations have been set
aside for research and development, but would not elaborate on how
the costs would be shared.
    Little detail was revealed about the Interrobot project, which will
involve the Soviet Union and six East bloc nations. Marchuk said the
work would be aimed at developing robots to perform industrial tasks
such as painting and welding.
    Comecon members are the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East
Germany, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Cuba, Mongolia and Vietnam.
Yugoslavia participates in some projects but is not a full member.
    At another news conference on Wednesday, Soviet officials said the
Kremlin does not plan its own Star Wars research, but will respond
with strong measures if President Reagan pursues plans to develop the
space-based shield.
    Asked whether the Soviets would try to match the Strategic Defense
Initiative, physicist Yevgeny Velikhov replied: ''We are not getting
involved in any adventures of the character we now see in the Star
Wars program.''
    He said countermeasures would ''not only be instrumental in
maintaining the strategic balance but also have a sobering impact on
those who try to disrupt such a balance through the SDI initiative.''
Velikhov added that Soviet scientists were developing responses that
would be twice as ''cost-effective'' as SDI.
    On Monday, two Soviet military writers outlined possible Kremlin
responses to Star Wars, including orbiting ''mines,'' coating
missiles to deflect lasers and increasing the number and accuracy of
long-range nuclear missiles.
    
AP-NY-12-19-85 0255EST
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