Trade Embargo Not World Court Issue, President Asserts

President Reagan said today he will not rescind the trade embargo he imposed on Nicaragua no matter what action the leftist Sandinista government takes, including an appeal to the World Court.

Reagan, in the West German capital for the economic summit of industrialized nations, said he will go ahead with the embargo he signed Wednesday banning all trade with the Central American nation and abrogating a friendship treaty.

“It won’t make much difference whatever they do,” Reagan told reporters. “We’re going to have the sanctions.” Asked about any action by the World Court, he said, “We don’t recognize the jurisdiction.”

Nicaraguan Vice President Sergio Ramirez said in Managua that the embargo has an “illegal and arbitrary character” and his nation will add the action, including the breaking of the friendship treaty, to its case now pending before the International Court of Justice at The Hague. The original complaint stemmed from the CIA mining of Nicaraguan harbors, revealed a year ago.

White House spokesman Larry Speakes, in Bonn with Reagan, later said, “This is not an item for the World Court.”

Treaty Language Cited

He cited the language of the U.S.-Nicaraguan treaty, which said the treaty “shall not affect the parties’ national security measures.”

He said the United States contends that since Nicaragua threatens its neighbors with subversion, it is a threat to U.S. national security and the U.S. government therefore is entitled to break the treaty and take measures such as the trade embargo.

Speakes said, however, there is no thought of breaking diplomatic relations “because negotiations are the cornerstone of our policy.”

Speakes shrugged off a Nicaraguan announcement that the Sandinista government will go ahead with a plan to send 100 Cuban advisers home, despite the U.S. action.

“One hundred Cubans are a drop in the bucket,” Speakes said. U.S. officials estimate there are more than 3,000 Cuban advisers in Nicaragua, while Managua says there are fewer then 700.

Ortega Denounces Embargo

In Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega today denounced Reagan’s decision to impose a trade embargo and predicted it would “most likely be accompanied by military action.” Nicaraguan officials have often predicted a U.S. invasion, an event American officials deny is being considered.

Ortega spoke at a news conference in the Yugoslav capital, part of his current tour of nine communist nations, including the Soviet Union. He says he is seeking economic aid for his hard-pressed economy.

Asked in Managua if the embargo would lead to closer ties with the Soviets, Ramirez said: “We will seek help in all those countries that want to support us, and that includes the Soviet Union.”