Soviet Peace Group Members Under House Arrest

Several members of Moscow’s unofficial peace group were held under house arrest to stop them from delivering a pre-summit petition to the U.S. Embassy, a group spokesman said Thursday.

Alexei Lusnikov said he, his wife, Olga, and at least five other members of the grass-roots peace group were either picked up and placed under house arrest or detained at home by Soviet authorities Wednesday.

“We agreed yesterday to meet at the American Embassy and give them . . . a proposal we are making to the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union,” Lusnikov said in a telephone interview.

He said the proposal, which urged more “exchanges” between the superpowers, was eventually given to U.S. Embassy personnel by telephone.

The proposal, on the eve of the summit meeting between Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev and President Reagan, suggested diverting military funds to a peace fund to develop trust between the United States and the Soviet Union.

The money would go toward boosting cultural, educational and scientific exchanges.