Soviets Link Troop Pullout Rate, Summit : Top Commander in Afghanistan Says 25% to Go by May 29

KABUL, Afghanistan — Insisting that the departure of Soviet troops is not a retreat or a defeat, the commander of Soviet forces in Afghanistan said Saturday that one-fourth of his troops will be withdrawn from this country before the May 29 summit meeting between President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev in Moscow.

“We think this will make it possible to establish an atmosphere of trust at the summit,” Lt. Gen. Boris Gromov declared. He said that by Aug. 15, Soviet troops will have pulled out of 11 of 18 garrisons and 170 posts, leaving only the Afghan army to defend them against attacks by U.S.-supported moujahedeen rebels.

Gromov said that the departing Soviet troops will leave 600 million rubles ($1 billion) worth of equipment and supplies behind in the garrisons.

Afghans Are ‘Ready’

As a result, the 40-year-old Soviet officer contended, the Afghan army will be well-supplied and “ready” to take over after the Soviets leave on a 9-month timetable established in an agreement signed in Geneva last month.

The Geneva accord calls for the Soviets to begin today withdrawing their estimated 115,000 troops, to withdraw half by Aug. 15 and to have the rest out of Afghanistan by Feb. 15, 1989.

Gromov spoke at an unprecedented press conference the day before the first phase of the Soviet withdrawal is to begin. Soviet journalists based here said the press conference marked the first time the senior Soviet commander in Afghanistan, a handsome, blond-haired officer, had ever been officially identified or appeared in public.

At times, the wording of Gromov’s evaluation of the much-maligned Afghan armed forces--much like the phrasing used by Soviet officials to describe the government of Afghan President Najibullah--appeared studiedly ambiguous.

Loosening Ties to Regime

For the past several months the Soviets have appeared increasingly willing to loosen their commitment to the Najibullah regime, if necessary, to allow a political solution to the conflict.

U.S. officials, who have directed a $2-billion covert arms supply program to the Afghan rebels, have predicted a rapid fall of the Afghan regime after the Soviets leave.

“I have no doubt about the combat efficiency of the Afghan army,” said Gromov.

Only three hours before the Soviet general spoke at the press conference in the American-built Inter-Continental Hotel, now known by the Afghan name Melmah Pal, a truck bomb exploded in a residential area in the eastern outskirts of the city, killing at least 11 people and injuring 12 others.

During the past two weeks in the Afghan capital, moujahedeen rocket and bomb attacks have increased significantly. Part of the guerrilla strategy to capture the city appears to be a series of random attacks aimed at undermining public confidence in the government defenses.

As many as 40 people died in rocket attacks Monday, and all day Saturday, Kabul was buffeted by explosions from incoming rockets. Afghan government forces fought back by firing into the surrounding hills. Later, artillery target flares lit up the night sky, giving the impression that the capital already was a city under siege.

Blames U.S. for Arms Flow

At a press conference Saturday, Najibullah blamed the attacks on the United States, which he accused of providing sophisticated weapons to the moujahedeen in violation of last month’s Geneva agreement on Afghanistan, which the United States and the Soviet Union signed as co-guarantors.

“They (the Afghan rebels) are launching rockets, setting off explosives, conducting terrorist activities as part of their so-called holy war,” Najibullah said, shortly after eight explosions rocked the meeting hall where he was conducting the press conference.

“These are the same people who said they wanted the Soviets to leave. Now they are setting up obstacles to their peaceful march homeward.”

Gen. Gromov’s analysis of the Afghan regime’s fighting ability tended to be technical and dry, couched in terms of equipment and facilities the withdrawing Soviet army will leave behind.

Army ‘Well-Provided’

“The Afghan army is well-provided with everything it needs to defend against its enemies,” he said.

However, the general became more emotional when he discussed the role of Soviet soldiers in what many describe as the first defeat of the Soviet Red Army.

He insisted that the withdrawal of Soviet troops after eight years of war against the lightly armed, loosely organized Afghan guerrillas should not be considered a retreat or a defeat.

“The withdrawal is not a retreat,” he said in response to a question submitted by a Soviet journalist. “It is the completion of their international duties and the fulfillment of the Geneva agreement. . . .

“The losses of the rebels exceeded our losses. So you cannot talk about a military defeat.”

Rebels Vowed Disruption

Earlier last week in Pakistan, leaders of the moujahedeen rebel groups threatened to disrupt the withdrawal by firing on Soviet columns as they leave.

“They will not be able to frustrate our withdrawal,” Gromov said. “We have a lot of means at our disposal to fulfill the timetable.”

Responding to a question about the possibility of moujahedeen forces using sophisticated new anti-tank weapons against his departing troops, Gromov said that “retribution would be great and severe.”

He said the initial withdrawal today will take place in Jalalabad, 80 miles east of Kabul, where more than 1,000 Soviet troops will begin their journey home.

“All our soldiers will leave Jalalabad,” he said. “There will be none left behind.”

Promises to Clear Mines

He also said that all mine fields laid by the Soviet army, “except those that protect large industrial establishments,” will be removed before Soviet soldiers leave.

At times in his statements, Gromov appeared to fall into a sort of nostalgic reverie about the 8-year presence of Soviet troops here, during which as many as 20,000 Soviet soldiers may have died.

“We didn’t wage war in this country,” he said. “We helped the Afghan people set up conditions for a peaceful life against attacks from outside.”

He said that the Soviet soldiers here would now be able to return home and participate in the “renovation of Soviet society.”

“From the bottom of our hearts,” Gromov said, “we wish success and happiness to the Afghan people.”