SOVIET TANKERS SET TO CARRY KUWAITI OIL
  Kuwait has agreed to charter tankers
  from the Soviet Union in a move to protect its oil exports
  through the Mideast Gulf, diplomatic sources said.
      They said the agreement followed months of talks with the
  Soviet Union and the U.S. On ways to secure its oil exports
  after Iran started to attack Kuwaiti-connected vessels in
  retaliation for Kuwait's backing for Iran's war enemy Iraq.
      Diplomats said they expect three Soviet tankers initially
  to reinforce other flags already supporting Kuwait's 22-tanker
  fleet.
      The diplomats said they knew of no deal for Moscow to
  provide a naval escort for its own vessels, but "the idea of
  protection is implicit," one said.
      They said Soviet cargo ships bound for Kuwait in the past
  to unload arms and materiel for road delivery to Iraq were
  known to have sailed under escort. So far, none of the Soviet
  ships are known to have been attacked by Iran. Diplomats said
  they expected the chartered Soviet tankers to sail between
  Kuwait and Khor Fakkan on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) coast
  a short way outside the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the
  Gulf.