Reagan to be Interviewed by 4 Moscow Journalists

President Reagan, trying to talk “directly with the people of the Soviet Union” before the superpower summit, will be questioned Thursday by four Moscow journalists in the first interview an American President has granted the Soviet press in nearly a quarter of a century.

Presidential spokesman Larry Speakes said the United States is still waiting for a reply from the Soviet Union on a U.S. proposal for Reagan to appear on Soviet television.

Discussing the interview, Speakes said the Soviet journalists “will be able to report it as they wish to report it.” He said the Soviets are not obligated to carry a full text of the question-and-answer session.

“We have no reservations about the matter,” Speakes said.

Will Give Translation

The White House will give the Soviets a Russian-language translation of Reagan’s replies to the questions. “We will certainly be able to read their newspaper to see if it is published in its entirety and see if the translation agrees with our translation,” Speakes said.

The four journalists who will interview Reagan flew in from Moscow solely for the interview, Speakes said. They include a representative from the Soviet news agency Tass, the Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda, the Soviet government newspaper Izvestia and the Soviet news service Novosti.

Speakes described the four reporters as political commentators.

“We regard this interview as a unique and historic opportunity for the President to communicate directly with the people of the Soviet Union,” he said. “We hope it is a sign of a new and more open information policy on the part of the Soviet Union.”

1961 Kennedy Interview

He said the last time an American President was interviewed by Soviet journalists was Nov. 25, 1961, when then-President John F. Kennedy was interviewed in Hyannisport, Mass.

Speakes said there is an understanding that the interview with Reagan will be carried in Izvestia on Sunday.

The interview was initiated by an invitation from the Reagan Administration, Speakes said. It follows a highly publicized interview of Soviet leader Mikhai S. Gorbachev by Time magazine several weeks ago.

Speakes said that the Administration has put no restrictions on the Soviets’ questions but that he expects that they will focus on the November summit meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev, as well as U.S.-Soviet relations in general.

To Relieve ‘Paranoia’

Speaking of the summit, Reagan said in an interview broadcast today that at best his meeting with Gorbachev will remove “some of the paranoia” from U.S.-Soviet relations and ease the way to arms reductions.

Speaking during a radio interview with the British Broadcasting Corp., Reagan said “. . . While everyone is looking toward and emphasizing a reduction in arms, this is vital and important. . . . I see reduction in arms as a result, not a cause. If we can reduce those suspicions between our two countries, the reduction of arms will easily follow because we will reduce the feeling that we need them.”

Reagan also said he hopes to make a new arms control offer before the Nov. 19-20 Geneva summit but wasn’t sure it would be ready in time.