Reagan Letter to Soviets Was ‘Responsive’

President Reagan said today his letter to Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev on arms control “underlines my determination to keep the momentum going” and that he now hopes the superpowers have moved beyond the stage of misunderstanding and suspicion.

While saying arms talks will be a long process, Reagan said, “For the first time, however, we are not only pointed in the right direction--toward reduction and eventual elimination of nuclear weapons--we have begun to move down that road.”

Reagan, in a speech to a group of young people, declined to spell out specific proposals in his letter, which was sent last Friday.

“I can say that they were responsive to Soviet concerns; they sought out areas of convergence, and they addressed the ultimate goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons, while identifying practical steps that can move us in that direction,” he said.