O’Neill Sees Gorbachev, Is Optimistic : Reports Kremlin Desire for Better Relations With U.S.

House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. said Wednesday after meeting for almost four hours with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev that the Kremlin wants better relations with the United States.

The Massachusetts Democrat said his talks with Gorbachev and other Soviet officials showed that there are “real opportunities for expanded trade and cultural contacts” in the future.

However, he added that in three days of discussions here, he discerned no major change in Soviet policy regarding arms control, human rights, trade or other issues.

“While many differences were aired, a desire from both sides for better relations between our two nations was underscored time and time again,” O’Neill told a news conference. “From our talks it is apparent that real opportunities for expanded trade and cultural contacts exist.”

Reagan Letter Delivered

O’Neill said that in the course of the conversation, he delivered a letter from President Reagan and that, after reading it, Gorbachev said he is awaiting with interest a more comprehensive reply to his letter to Reagan, in which he has agreed in principle to a summit meeting.

O’Neill, accompanied by the House Republican leader, Robert H. Michel of Illinois, and two other congressional leaders, spent three hours and 43 minutes with Gorbachev, who has been in office for only a month.

“There’s no question that relationships have been at a pretty low ebb,” Michel said. “But as the general secretary (Gorbachev) said, ‘We’ve got to improve that.’ ”

Michel added that Gorbachev said he will eventually meet with Reagan and that their meeting will be a “good omen” for peace.

‘Tremendously Impressed’

O’Neill, a product of rough-and-tumble Boston Irish politics, said he was “tremendously impressed” by Gorbachev’s talents as an advocate. The Communist Party leader, he said, would have been an excellent trial lawyer in New York City.

“He’s hard, he’s tough and he’s strong,” O’Neill said. “The truth of the matter is that there was a confrontation, but not to any degree. Did we leave in an amiable spirit? I would say the answer is yes.”

Tass, the official Soviet news agency, said Gorbachev was pleased by the visit of the 13-member House delegation to the Soviet Union and quoted him as saying to O’Neill:

“We know the role played by Congress in America’s political life, and we attach great importance to developing contacts along the parliamentary line as one of the elements of invigorating Soviet-American relations.

“The world situation is disquieting, even dangerous. The Soviet leadership sincerely wishes that relations should return into a normal channel. . . . Our peoples can gain much from the development of broad and fruitful cooperation.”

The meeting with the congressmen was the longest session Gorbachev has had with any foreign delegation since March 11, when he succeeded the late Konstantin U. Chernenko. It took place in a third-floor Kremlin office dominated by a long green felt table, three crystal chandeliers and large portraits of Marx and Lenin.

Waiting for his guests, Gorbachev drummed his fingers impatiently on the back of a chair and checked his watch. However, he became all smiles when O’Neill entered, two minutes before the appointed hour of 3 p.m.

Besides O’Neill and Michel, only two other members of the U.S. delegation sat in on the talks. They were Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. Silvio O. Conte (R-Mass.), ranking GOP member of the House Appropriations Committee.

When O’Neill said he was sorry that all 13 members of the delegation could not attend, Gorbachev joked, “We’ll have to rent a bigger room next time.”

Moratorium Discussed

O’Neill said Gorbachev’s announcement of a seven-month halt to deployment of medium-range missiles aimed at Western Europe was discussed “fully and frequently.”

Michel, who described Gorbachev as a “very formidable adversary,” said the Soviet leader challenged the Pentagon’s assertion of a 10-to-1 Soviet superiority in European missiles.

“The party line was pretty well enunciated, but it’s good to have the exchange and get the feeling that the general secretary eventually would like to talk personally with our President,” Michel said.

Conte said he considered Gorbachev “sharp” and “a good lawyer.” Then he added: “Three hours and 43 minutes--why, that’s more time than I spent with President Reagan in four years.”