The World : East German Conciliatory

East Germany and West Germany appeared intent on avoiding a rupture in relations over Bonn’s spy scandal. East German leader Erich Honecker, in an apparent reference to the defection of a top West German counterspy to his country, said he hopes that both states can avoid “disturbances” and keep “turbulences in check.” Honecker made the comments at the opening of the Leipzig trade fair, attended by a West German delegation headed by Hans Otto Braeutigam, Bonn’s representative in the East. Braeutigam said he viewed German relations “with great optimism.”