E. Germany to Boost Military Spending
EAST BERLIN — East Germany, required to meet the cost of basing Soviet medium-range nuclear missiles on its soil, announced Friday a 7.7% increase in defense spending for 1986.
Premier Willi Stoph gave the figure at a twice-yearly meeting of the country’s Parliament, three days after Moscow published an economic plan which said Soviet defense spending would virtually remain at this year’s level.
Western diplomats said that, as with the Soviet budget, the defense figure of $5.6 billion did not reflect costs hidden under other categories such as light or heavy machine building. The true costs are higher.
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