‘Star Wars’ Delay Offered by Reagan for Arms Cutback : Would Stall Deployment for 7 Years; Says Talks’ Progress ‘Gives Me Hope’

President Reagan, in a major address to the United Nations, confirmed Monday that he is prepared to sign an agreement with the Soviet Union that would prevent deployment for seven years of his “Star Wars” missile defense system in exchange for an accord radically reducing U.S. and Soviet offensive nuclear arsenals.

Striking an optimistic tone, the President said that progress during the summer on arms control “gives me hope” and that “the ice of the negotiating stalemate could break” if both sides intensify their efforts in the new round of arms talks under way in Geneva.

Second Letter to Gorbachev

At the same time, Reagan reiterated his concern that “a pall has been cast over our relations with the Soviet Union” by the continued detention of American journalist Nicholas Daniloff. The White House confirmed that Reagan wrote a second personal letter to Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev earlier this month in an attempt to settle the Daniloff matter before it disrupts chances for a superpower summit later this year.

Reagan’s remarks were coldly received in the U.N. chamber, with a number of delegates, including Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze, withholding applause. But Reagan appeared determined to put the best face possible on the U.S.-Soviet relationship, stressing advances in arms control and playing down his dissatisfaction over Daniloff.

For the first time, Reagan publicly discussed the contents of his July 25 letter to Gorbachev, which spelled out the conditions of a possible U.S.-Soviet deal that would essentially exchange limits on “Star Wars,” formally known as the Strategic Defense Initiative, for deep cuts in Soviet ballistic missile warheads.

A response from Gorbachev to Reagan’s letter was received at the White House on Friday during a hastily arranged meeting with Shevardnadze that focused on Daniloff. Reagan did not reveal the contents of Gorbachev’s letter, saying only that he was giving it “serious and careful consideration.”

Reagan proposed a 50% reduction in warheads on both sides, but he said in his speech that he would consider a lesser reduction as “an interim measure” if that was what the Soviets wanted. Administration officials who briefed reporters confirmed that Reagan is ready to accept a Soviet counteroffer to cut offensive weapons by 30% as a first step toward greater reductions.

Reagan also said that he is prepared to conclude an interim agreement that would leave only a token number of U.S. and Soviet intermediate-range nuclear missiles deployed in Europe. Officials called this “a promising area” with an accord near.

But the Daniloff matter remains a sticking point for both sides. Reagan called Daniloff, a U.S. News & World Report correspondent who was arrested Aug. 30 in Moscow and accused of espionage, “an innocent hostage who should be released.” By contrast, he said that Gennady F. Zakharov, a Soviet citizen employed by the United Nations who was arrested in New York a week before Daniloff was taken into custody in Moscow, is “an accused spy who should stand trial.”

The Administration has been under pressure, particularly from conservatives, not to allow Daniloff to be equated with Zakharov, who has been charged with espionage. Reagan cited humanitarian concerns for his agreement to allow both men to be released into the custody of their respective ambassadors.

Unlike many of his previous speeches on East-West relations, Reagan’s U.N. address was unusually conciliatory toward the Soviet Union. Although he touched on Soviet involvement in regional conflicts in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Angola and Nicaragua, he did not dwell on them as he has in past years.

He did, however, take a jab at the Soviets for human rights violations. Noting that the image-conscious Gorbachev includes a section on “humanitarian” concerns in his speeches, Reagan said that human rights do not belong “in the realm of charity. . . . Respect for human rights is not social work; it is not merely an act of compassion. It is the first obligation of government and the source of its legitimacy.”

Except for these flashes of frustration, Reagan presented an encouraging picture of U.S.-Soviet relations at a critical juncture. “We are moving toward a future of greater reliance upon strategic defense,” he said, outlining his proposal for a new anti-ballistic missile treaty that would prevent deployment of any “Star Wars” system until 1991. After that, either side wishing to deploy would be required over a two-year period to negotiate a possible sharing with the other. Only then could either side unilaterally deploy after giving six months’ notice.

Much Work to Be Done

But Reagan made clear that much work would have be done before the question of deployment of a “Star Wars” system becomes crucial.

” . . . Both sides would agree to confine themselves, through 1991, to research and development and testing which is permitted by the ABM Treaty to determine whether advanced systems of strategic defense are technically feasible,” Reagan said.

At another point, Reagan noted that “Star Wars” was “still on the drawing boards, rather than the menacing (Soviet) ballistic missiles themselves that already exist in excessive numbers.”

Responding to Soviet charges that a U.S. space defense system would give the United States a first-strike capability, the President declared: “I have offered firm and concrete assurances that our SDI could never be used to deploy weapons in space that can cause mass destruction on Earth. I have pointed out that the radical reduction we seek now in offensive arsenals would be additional measures that SDI cannot be used to support a first-strike strategy.”

Reagan said the United States continues to “respect” the ABM treaty--”in spite of clear evidence the Soviets are violating it.” He did not elaborate.

Brought Soviets to Talks

Administration officials believe that the threat of “Star Wars” brought the Soviets back to the negotiating table after a long absence and that restrictions on deployment of the space-based missile defense system will be at the heart of any arms-control accord between the superpowers.

White House officials were not bothered by the stony reception Reagan received at the United Nations. Although Reagan pledged his continued commitment to the international forum, he has long considered it more of a breeding ground for anti-Americanism than an influential body for solving world problems. Referring to the current U.N. financial crisis, Reagan said that “the issue, ultimately, is not one of cash but of credibility.”

Text of Reagan talk, Page 8.