No Softening of ‘Star Wars’ Position, U.S. Says

In a further clarification of President Reagan’s latest remarks on his controversial missile defense program, White House officials said Tuesday that the United States would not share “Star Wars” technology with any nation, including the Soviet Union, unless that nation first agreed to disarm.

This interpretation, which runs counter to what Reagan declared in an interview with Soviet reporters, indicated that “Star Wars” will continue to be the major obstacle to any arms control agreement between Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev at their Nov. 19-20 summit in Geneva.

In the interview, published Monday by the official Soviet government newspaper Izvestia, the President pledged not to deploy “Star Wars” defenses unless the superpowers first eliminated their nuclear arsenals--an apparent significant softening of the Administration’s commitment to the program, formally known as the Strategic Defense Initiative.

But on Tuesday, a senior White House official made clear that the Administration is not softening its position. Indeed, he took it one step further by tying Reagan’s longstanding unconditional offer to share “Star Wars” research to a pledge to disarm.

‘A Momentous Idea’

“We would make our technology available to those who would disarm,” the official said, calling the “Star Wars” program “a momentous idea” that could culminate in “a sort of world disarmament.”

On Monday, soon after Reagan’s remarks were released, White House spokesman Larry Speakes said that the President had not departed from Administration policy on “Star Wars” and had meant to underscore U.S. willingness to share such technology with the Soviets.

On Tuesday, officials gave the remark a different twist, making it clear that “Star Wars” technology could not be shared without a dismantling of offensive weapons.

Despite the idealistic rhetoric, this formulation would give the United States first-strike capability during any interim period when offensive nuclear missiles were coupled with the “Star Wars” defensive shield--an advantage Moscow has in the past found unpalatable.

Reagan’s surprise offer was among the portions of the interview with four Soviet journalists that was not censored by Izvestia. However, Speakes voiced “regret and disappointment” Tuesday that the Soviets did not print Reagan’s interview in full.

But in the pre-summit scramble for position, Speakes pronounced the overall interview “a positive achievement” that would lead to “better understanding of American attitudes” as the first meeting between a U.S. President and a Soviet leader in six years approaches.

The “Star Wars” issue has dominated the dialogue in the weeks leading up to the summit, despite attempts by the White House to shift attention to regional conflicts such as those in Afghanistan and Nicaragua.

One Administration official expressed surprise Tuesday at the media’s close scrutiny of every aspect of space defense diplomacy because deployment of such a system is so far in the future--and many leading scientists question whether it will ever become viable.

“Two, or possibly three, Presidents would serve before this becomes reality,” said this official, confirming estimates that place deployment of the missile defense program in the next century.

Reagan Address Due

Meanwhile, in the week before the summit, Reagan will deliver a major address on arms control to explain in broad detail the new American counterproposal that was presented to Soviet negotiators in Geneva last week. To keep the spotlight on U.S. solidarity, he also will confer with former Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter by telephone.

White House aides had tried to arrange a face-to-face meeting of Reagan and the former presidents for Friday but could not coordinate the travel plans of all four men. Carter, the only Democrat in the group, is traveling abroad and sent word that he might not return in time.

Reagan instead will meet later this week at the White House with several former national security advisers, expected to include Henry A. Kissinger, Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski.

At the same time, the Administration still is trying to extract a commitment from Soviet television officials to allow Reagan air time to address the Soviet people while he is in Geneva. The request was made some months ago by Charles Z. Wick, head of the U.S. Information Agency.

Officials also are considering a radio address to the Soviet Union by Reagan during his Geneva stay.