VIENNA, Austria -- Vice President George Bush today accused the Soviet Union of holding half of Europe captive behind a 'monstruous wall' and pledged U.S. support for East Bloc nations that stray from Moscow's line.
Bush also denounced the Soviet Union for destroying the Korean Air Lines jetliner, saying the Soviet attack and justification for it were 'not the actions and words of a civilized system.'
Bush specifically praised Hungary and Romania for independent policy and said such countries will be rewarded by better bilateral relations with Washington.
Winding up a seven-nation tour that took him to Hungary, Romania and Communist but non-aligned Yugoslavia, Bush denied that the Yalta conference between Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Josef Stalin at the end of World War II had divided the continent.
Instead, he blamed the Soviet Union for distorting the Yalta agreements, creating a 'monstruous wall ... which in one form or another spans the breadth of the continent, runs not along the edge, but cuts through the very heart of Europe, leaving families divided, a people held prisoner in their own country.'
Openly wooing East Bloc countries to turn away from Moscow, Bush said, 'Our policy is one of differentiation, that is, we look to what degree countries pursue autonomous foreign policies, independent of Moscow's direction, and to what degree they foster domestic liberalization -- politically, economically and in their respect for human rights,' Bush said.
He singled out Hungary, which follows Soviet foreign policy but has a liberal domestic and economic system, and Romania, which has a poor human rights record but sometimes follows an independent foreign policy. Both countries have Most Favored Nation trade status with Washington.
He stressed Washington 'does not seek to destabilize or undermine any government' and is 'not saying that countries must follow policies identical to those of the United states.'
But, he said, 'We will not reward closed societies and belligerent foreign policies -- countries such as Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia, which continue to flagrantly violate the most fundamental human rights.'
He also accused Bulgaria and East Germany of acting as proxies for Moscow in the training, funding and arming of terrorists.
