Flexibility Toward Hope

For months it has been obvious that the strategic arms reduction talks in Geneva would never get anywhere unless President Reagan agreed to put his Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars,” on the bargaining table. For the first time there is reason to hope that he will.

The President, in an interview with three members of The Times’ Washington bureau, expressed optimism that he and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev might reach an agreement in principle on arms reductions at their next summit meeting. He specifically said that restraints on the deployment of anti-missile defensive systems could be included in the negotiations.

Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger and his aides will no doubt try to redefine the President’s words into insignificance. Unfortunately, if experience is any guide, they may succeed. But if the President sticks to what he said this week, and if the Soviets prove similarly flexible, the chances for reaching an agreement will be greatly improved.

Until lately the Soviet Union had been insisting on U.S. abandonment of the Star Wars program as a pre-condition for reductions in offensive missile forces on both sides. Since there would be no way to verify compliance with a ban on laboratory work of the sort that both sides were conducting long before Reagan ever announced his SDI program, that was an impractical proposal.

Four weeks ago, however, the Soviets submitted a greatly modified negotiating proposal for cuts in offensive missiles, together with a suggestion that continued SDI laboratory work would be acceptable. Reagan, who had thrown arms-control advocates into deep gloom with his seeming repudiation of the SALT II treaty, responded with a warmly worded speech at Glassboro, N.J., calling the Gorbachev proposal a possible “turning point” in arms-control negotiations. Conversations concerning a possible summit meeting are once more under way.

No one should imagine that all the problems are solved, even if the President doesn’t allow Administration hard-liners to dilute his newly expressed willingness to put SDI on the bargaining table. The two sides are still far from agreement on a formula for offensive-missile cuts. And, as for Star Wars, the Soviets will strive for a stricter definition of “research” than Reagan, who is still devoted to the idea of SDI as an eventual means of deliverance from the threat of mutual nuclear extermination, will be willing to accept. The United States will seek a broader definition, including development as well as research, going beyond what Moscow is willing to accept.

Compromising these very different viewpoints will be difficult. At least, however, the two sides have moved within negotiating distance of each other. And that itself is a major improvement.