No U.S. Aid for Germany Yet--Baker

Secretary of State James A. Baker III said today that despite the dramatic moves in East Germany toward free travel, substantial Western aid for that country is unlikely until there is “political pluralism across the board.”

“There’s a long way to go before there is true freedom and true political pluralism in East Germany,” Baker said from Washington on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “That doesn’t mean we don’t welcome this step.”

In Moscow, Soviet spokesman Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady I. Gerasimov welcomed East Germany’s decision to throw open its borders but stressed that the border between East and West Germany remains in force and that eased travel restrictions should not be taken as heralding the imminent reunification of the two Germanys.

“The border still remains, though some might think it ceased to exist,” he said.

He added that the Soviet Union is concerned about the instability brought on by the mass exodus of East Germans to the West.

But with easier travel, Gerasimov said, “the wanderlust the Germans are famous for will go down because now, when you know you can go, maybe you’ll postpone the decision.”

Baker, although calling the open borders “the most dramatic event in East-West relations” since the end of World War II, said the United States and other allies believe any discussion of an aid program now would be premature.

The allies, he said, will be much more forthcoming about helping East Germany only if there is “political pluralism across the board.”

The only action taken by the Bush Administration has been an offer of “all possible assistance” to the West German government as it struggles to cope with the flood of refugees. The Pentagon said it was making available housing for 980 people in three off-base installations.

“Were we surprised by the speed of it?” Baker asked in a separate interview on CBS. “You bet your life, and so was everybody else as far as I can determine.”

“It is not enough . . . simply to open borders,” Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-R.I.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.

“East Germany should also hold truly democratic elections so that its people can have a secure and free future without having to leave their homes,” Pell said.

Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.), a former Foreign Relations Committee chairman, said the Administration should be cautious. The East German authorities, he said, may be intent on getting rid of “the bad eggs” before moving to restore the hard-line system.