Reagan Seeks Wider Focus at Summit : Wants Key Regional Problems Included in Gorbachev Talks

President Reagan heads today for the 40th anniversary session of the United Nations with an ambitious agenda that includes a speech challenging the Soviet Union to take specific steps toward reducing tension around the world.

In the latest maneuvering before next month’s U.S.-Soviet summit, Reagan will seek to broaden the focus of his meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to include not only arms control but also such hot spots as Afghanistan, Southeast Asia, South Africa and Central America, a senior Administration official said Tuesday.

The addition of these other areas of concern is important to the Administration because of fears that an arms control summit dominated by Soviet objections to Reagan’s so-called “Star Wars” missile defense program would present a no-win situation for the President.

A breakthrough on arms control is considered unlikely by at least some White House advisers, and they would like to be able to point to victories on other fronts. “The relationship just doesn’t stand on arms control,” one White House official observed.

Officials also said that a lessening in overall tension could pay dividends in the arms struggle. “Arms control is influenced by the political atmosphere,” another aide said. “Whether one wants to make linkage or not, that’s a fact of life.”

Congressional leaders briefed earlier by Reagan told reporters that the President’s initiatives, to be unveiled in a speech Thursday before the U.N. General Assembly in New York, are likely to provoke a response from the Soviets.

“It won’t be just a speech with bland generalities,” House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.) said. “There’ll be some meat in it.”

One White House aide described the speech as “a major statement on ways to reduce global tension.”

Talks With Allies Planned

During three days in New York, Reagan also will meet with allied leaders to preview his plans for the Geneva summit, and White House aides are trying to arrange a private session for him with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze.

Reagan’s New York trip, highlighted by the U.N. speech, is designed to “set the stage for Geneva” as the President starts the countdown for his meeting with Gorbachev on Nov. 19-20, Administration officials said.

“The clock for Geneva begins in New York,” said one official, reflecting the Administration’s hope that Reagan can inject what he called some “realism” into the superpower dialogue to counter the favorable impression that the new Soviet leader has made on world opinion.

In Thursday’s speech, Reagan is expected to call for “a new start, a new beginning for a more constructive relationship . . . but without illusion.”

In remarks to congressional leaders, Reagan signaled the Administration’s shift away from arms control to a broader spectrum of East-West issues.

Soviet Positions Unchanged

“The new Soviet leadership has demonstrated a more polished public style but we have yet to see a change in fundamental Soviet positions,” he said. “We must address the most important fundamental differences between our two countries, which are the underlying reasons for our large military expenditures. Our agenda will include human rights, bilateral contacts and Soviet expansionism in the Third World.”

Reagan will be accompanied in New York by Vice President George Bush, who will have a full schedule of his own, including several bilateral meetings with foreign leaders. Bush also will fill in for Reagan at a ceremonial event Thursday afternoon to celebrate the U.N. anniversary.

Rejecting speculation that this is a first step toward a new independence for the vice president, who is considering a run for the presidency in 1988, a White House aide noted that Bush served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 1971-72. “Clearly, he ought to play a role there,” this aide said. “He has plenty of experience.”

Reagan leaves for New York this morning and will return to Washington on Friday. Thursday afternoon, he will meet with the leaders of Italy, Canada, Japan, West Germany and Britain in a group session that is expected to produce a vote of confidence for his approach to the summit with Gorbachev.

‘A Timely Opportunity’

An aide said that the U.N. gathering provides “a timely opportunity for him to consult with some of the key allies before he goes to Geneva.”

French President Francois Mitterrand, who was invited to meet with Reagan, did not accept, pleading previous commitments.

Meanwhile, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s request for a private meeting with Reagan was turned down. Although officials declined to cite specific reasons, Reagan pointed out in his meeting with congressional leaders that Nicaragua’s state of emergency has been expanded and that “not only have civil liberties been crushed, but we are seeing an increased Cuban military involvement in Nicaragua.”

However, Ortega will be permitted to go through a receiving line this evening to greet Reagan, a routine diplomatic nicety extended to diplomats attending the opening U.N. festivities.