Chancellor Helmut Kohl on Tuesday firmly rejected Moscow's suggestion that settling the military complexities of a united Germany could be delayed until after the countries are merged. ``It would be a fatal development if the external and internal conditions of German unity were not completely clear when the day of German unity comes,'' Kohl told reporters. The chancellor was referring to a suggestion by Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze that formal German unity could occur before ``external'' aspects of the merger are cleared up. Such ``external'' aspects would include those issues with international implications, such as the military stance of a united Germany. West Germany currently belongs to NATO, while East Germany is a member of the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. The Soviets oppose a united Germany in NATO. During reunification talks Saturday in Bonn, Shevardnadze also suggested a ``transition period'' during which the four wartime allies would retain postwar rights, even after German unity. The United States, the Soviet Union, France and Britain jointly control many matters in the former German capital of Berlin. They also have special rights outside Berlin, many involving the status of the troops they maintain in what once were their postwar military occupation zones. Shevardnadze's remarks initially triggered jubilation among some West German politicians, who sensed the pace of unification was picking up. But by Tuesday that had changed to concern about delaying settlement of important issues related to German unification. There had even been talk among some politicians of canceling West Germany's Dec. 2 national election in favor of elections for a united Germany's parliament. But Kohl said Tuesday ``without question'' the Dec. 2 elections will still occur. Vernon A. Walters, the U.S. ambassador to West Germany, said Tuesday that Washington supports a united Germany with unrestricted sovereignty and without special rights for any of the World War II allied victors. ``A united Germany should have full control over its entire state territory, without any sort of new discriminating limitations of German sovereignty,'' Walters told a Frankfurt meeting of West German newspaper and broadcast susbscribers to The Associated Press. While the United States has promised it won't stand in the way of full sovereignty for a united Germany, it has also made clear it wants a merged Germany to be part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Kohl has also vowed that a united Germany will be a NATO member. Moscow has suggested as a compromise that a united Germany belong to both NATO and the Warsaw Pact until still-undefined European ``security structures'' are created. Both Washington and Bonn have said they are prepared to allow Soviet troops to remain on what is now East German territory for an interim period, but both have rejected a dual-bloc membership. East Germany also reacted negatively to Shevardnadze's weekend proposals. Government officials in East Berlin are ``skeptical'' of delaying a settlement on the international issues involved in unification, said the East German news agency ADN. Kohl said his government is hoping that the six-nation talks on unification, which began Saturday, will conclude before the end of this fall. He said the international aspects of German unification will likely be discussed at the U.S.-Soviet summit at the end of this month, and at a special NATO summit in London in July.
