A Soviet official said Monday that claims against Washington for delays in erecting the Soviet Embassy exceed the $29 million America is demanding for an unfinished, allegedly bugged U.S. Embassy building in Moscow. A Swedish official said Monday that the U.S. claim will go to an arbitration board in Stockholm which has quietly dealt with East-West disputes for 20 years. President Reagan said last Thursday he was recommending tearing down the main office building of the new U.S. Embassy compound in Moscow because the building was riddled with Soviet eavesdropping devices. His administration is not permitting the Soviets to occupy their new building in Washington while the status of the U.S. building remains unsettled. Soviet officials deny the U.S. Embassy building in Moscow is bugged, and on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady I. Gerasimov told a news conference: ``We also have bills to present to the American side.'' Gerasimov said claims for late delivery of construction materials and equipment and for other troubles would surpass the amount sought by Washington. In Stockholm, Ulf Franke, vice chairman of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, said, ``We have been informed by the United States that they are preparing an arbitration (case) here in Stockholm. The next step is to appoint the arbitrators.'' ``The case is well prepared and it might start any day.'' His organization is the parent body of the Arbitration Institute. Franke said the U.S. government invoked a clause in the 1977 building contract for the embassy construction in Moscow, in which either side can refer a dispute to the Stockholm institute. The ruling of the panel is binding. State Department spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley said in Washington that the U.S. claim against the Soviets is for damage and defective construction. No figure has been established for any bugging of the building. The State Department has said the building will be torn down and a new embassy will be contructed with U.S. workers and materials. Direct talks between the United States and Soviet Union have failed to settle the dispute. U.S. officials said last week they would ask outside arbiters to resolve it. Sweden's Arbitration Institute was founded 70 years ago and began dealing with international cases in the 1960s. Its reputation for secrecy has brought it a growing number of cases. The case will be heard by three arbitrators, one chosen by each side and a chairman picked by the board from a list of leading Swedish legal experts.
