U.S. Denies That Test of Laser May Have Violated ABM Treaty

The White House denied Sunday new Soviet charges that a U.S. test of a nuclear-powered laser may have violated the 1970 anti-ballistic missile treaty.

The Soviet Union made the accusations at a Moscow press conference Sunday, when it also denied American complaints that the Soviets are violating an array of 1970s arms accords.

As Air Force One ferried President and Mrs. Reagan from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, White House press spokesman Peter Roussel said the United States “is in full compliance with all arms control agreements.”

Will Study Statement

“I don’t anticipate us responding further until we’ve had a chance to study the substance, the full text of their statement,” he said.

On Saturday, the Energy Department exploded a nuclear bomb 1,800 feet beneath the Nevada desert in a test of an X-ray laser, believed to be part of the Reagan Administration’s “Star Wars” program to create a defensive shield against Soviet nuclear missiles.

In their statement, the Soviets contended that the test, code-named Goldstone, may have violated the 1970 ABM treaty because it was not conducted at a site designated for tests of defensive weapons.

The Soviets had publicly lobbied against the underground test for weeks before it took place, and hinted last week that the Administration was deliberately delaying the explosion in compliance with a Soviet call for a ban on underground nuclear tests.

The test reportedly had been put off several times because of poor wind conditions at the Nevada site.

The President spent Sunday morning at the Century Plaza in Los Angeles, where he and Mrs. Reagan have stayed since last Friday, before flying here for a New Year’s holiday with longtime Hollywood and political friends. They are staying at the estate of millionaire publisher Walter H. Annenberg.

During an otherwise uneventful day, Reagan signed into law a dozen minor pieces of legislation, including resolutions for a Truck and Bus Safety Week and a 150th anniversary year for the National Library of Medicine.

Letters of Condolence

The most sweeping bill allows the military to give families of the 248 servicemen killed in this month’s crash of an Arrow Air DC-8 jet more life insurance benefits and free housing, or an equivalent housing allowance.

Reagan also signed letters of condolence that will be delivered to the families of the five Americans killed in terrorist raids last week at the Rome and Vienna airports.

Roussel also disclosed that Reagan received routine visits from his allergist and ear doctor while in Los Angeles. Reagan has long received regular shots for a hay-fever allergy, and has been wearing two hearing aids in recent years.