Reagan Sees Hope in Soviet Arms Bid : In Conciliatory Tone, He Speaks of ‘Opportunity’ to Improve Relations

President Reagan, addressing a high school graduating class at this site of a 1967 superpower summit, said Thursday that the Soviet Union has “begun to make a serious effort” at arms control, and that its recent proposals to reduce nuclear weapons “could represent a turning point” in the tense U.S.-Soviet relationship.

In a speech notable for its conciliatory tone toward Moscow, the President appealed to Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev to allow a preparatory session for the next summit meeting to take place.

“The location is unimportant,” Reagan said. “What matters is that such a meeting take place in mutual earnestness so that we can make progress at the next summit.”

Reagan called the current atmosphere in East-West talks on a variety of issues “a moment of opportunity” to improve relations between the superpowers.

‘Serious Discussion’

“We believe that possibly an atmosphere does exist that will allow for serious discussion,” he said.

Of the latest Soviet proposal on strategic nuclear weapons, he said, “We cannot accept these particular proposals without some change, but it appears that the Soviets have begun to make a serious effort.”

The tone of the President’s remarks was a striking departure from the harsh criticism leveled at the Soviets in recent weeks by senior Administration officials for alleged violations of the unratified second strategic arms limitation treaty.

Administration officials have said that the latest Soviet arms offer has merit, but this was the first time that Reagan has publicly expressed optimism about it since the offer was presented in Geneva last week.

However, high on the list of sections of the new Soviet offer that some U.S. officials find unacceptable are the increased ceilings on warheads, particularly on warheads atop land-based intercontinental missiles, which pose the greatest threat of surprise attack to U.S. forces.

The Soviet proposal offers a new ceiling of 8,000 warheads of all kinds--down from current levels of about 12,000--compared to 6,000 in the previous Soviet plan and the standing U.S. proposal. Of the 8,000, no more than 60%, or 4,800 warheads, could be on land-based ICBMs.

Under this proposal, the Soviets could target each American ICBM with three warheads, more than enough to assure destruction of all the U.S. weapons in a first strike. The United States would not possess a comparable edge, leaving it more vulnerable than the Soviets.

Under this proposal, too, the Soviets apparently would not reduce, let alone eliminate, their giant SS-18 ICBMs, which carry 10 warheads and are the most threatening of Soviet long-range weapons.

On Same Basis

A second major objection is that the Soviets want to count nuclear bombs and short-range missiles on U.S. B-52 bombers-- which are fired ahead of the plane to suppress air defenses--as if they were in the same class as long-range cruise missiles on bombers and even warheads on ICBMs. Some distinction in quality, speed and power of such nuclear devices will be necessary, U.S. officials feel.

A third major objection is the over-restrictive definitions of what kinds of space defense research would be permitted or banned under the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which the Soviets want to extend for 15 years. U.S. officials have complained that the Soviets want to define the Strategic Defense Initiative--commonly called “Star Wars”--”out of existence.”

Reagan’s remark about a preparatory meeting for a summit, which he and Gorbachev agreed to in Geneva last November, appeared to indicate that he is prepared to send U.S. representatives to Europe--even to Moscow--if that is what it takes to get a summit under way this year.

A preparatory meeting between Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze had been set until the Soviets canceled it in reprisal for the U.S. raid on Libya on April 15.

A White House official traveling with the President confirmed that Reagan would like Shultz and Shevardnadze to meet as soon as possible, even if it means that Shultz has to travel to Moscow.

“We’re not picky about where they meet,” the official said.

A Famous Place

The site chosen for Reagan’s conciliatory speech Thursday, which he termed “an essay on peace,” is a landmark on the tortuous road of U.S-Soviet relations.

Nineteen years ago, in June, 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson met with Soviet Premier Alexei N. Kosygin at Glassboro State College, located just across the street from Glassboro High School where Reagan spoke.

Reagan acknowledged that at the 1967 summit, despite the much-publicized “Spirit of Glassboro,” there were no major breakthroughs made or agreements reached. Its location was chosen because it was exactly halfway between New York and Washington, and neither leader wanted to go an extra mile.

“Nevertheless, the two men met. They were frank,” Reagan recalled Thursday. “They worked to understand each other and to make themselves understood. In this alone, I would submit, they taught us a great deal.”

Standing in the crowded high school gymnasium here, Reagan issued a call for action.

“I have come here today to say the Glassboro summit was not enough, that indeed the Geneva summit was not enough--that talk alone, in short, is not enough,” he said. “I have come here to invite Mr. Gorbachev to join me in taking action.”

Much Milder Tone

This rhetoric was markedly different from Reagan’s usual tone--he once derided the idea of a summit that did not hold out the prospect of concrete agreements. In addition, it came just three weeks after he roused international alarm with the announcement May 27 that the United States no longer intends to observe the terms of the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty and will be in violation of those terms later this year when the 131st refurbished B-52 bomber equipped with cruise missiles is deployed.

Glassboro High School’s graduating class of 130 appeared oblivious to the messages to Moscow that the President was delivering. For the graduates, sweltering in their gold and maroon robes, it was enough that Reagan was there.

And Reagan, with his sense of humor, lived up to his box-office appeal.

“You probably heard about my earlier Hollywood connections, and think I might be able to introduce you to Tom Cruise or Michael J. Fox,” he said teasingly.

There was a brisk business in “I was there” T-shirts featuring Reagan’s picture. And parents and relatives snapped photographs of the President.

In what might be a first for a U.S. President, Reagan accepted an honorary high school diploma, joking that he had always thought that the first one he received had been honorary. “The day after I was elected, I had my high school grades classified top secret,” he joked.

Times staff writer Robert C. Toth contributed to this article from Washington.