World Notes DIPLOMACY

Six times since July 1986, Spanish and U.S. negotiators have sat down to work out a new arrangement for U.S. bases, and six times they have failed. So when the seventh round of talks began last week, further stalemate seemed all but certain. Indeed, at the end of the session, Spanish officials announced they would not "automatically renew" the current military treaty. That means a new pact will have to be worked out by next May or the U.S. will be forced to abandon installations it has occupied since 1953.

At issue are three air bases, a naval station and other facilities maintained by 12,000 American troops. Of special concern is the Torrejon air base outside Madrid, which houses 72 F-16 fighters assigned to help protect NATO's southern and central flanks. The Spanish want all the F-16s redeployed to some other country. The U.S. has offered to remove one-third of them. Concluded a European diplomat: "The two sides are at a dead end."