Daniloff a ‘Very Welcome Visitor’ at the White House

President Reagan, calling Nicholas Daniloff a “very welcome visitor,” met Wednesday with the U.S. News & World correspondent at the White House and denied that the United States had caved in while forging the complex agreements that brought the reporter his freedom.

Reagan, appearing with Daniloff and his family in the Rose Garden, defended U.S. actions that resulted in Daniloff’s release by the Soviets on Monday, a month after he was arrested on charges of espionage, and the announcement Tuesday of a superpower meeting in Iceland between the President and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

“I don’t think there was any caving in at all,” Reagan said. “I just said there wouldn’t be any meeting until he was freed.”

Key Ingredient

When asked whether U.S.-Soviet relations are now back on track, Reagan replied: “We’ll find out in about 10 days.” The President is scheduled to meet with Gorbachev on Oct. 11-12 in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland--a session that was a key ingredient in the negotiations that led to Daniloff’s release.

The 51-year-old reporter, who was greeted earlier by a cheering throng of colleagues at U.S. News & World Report offices here, praised Reagan for his efforts.

“This is a very complex situation and, if it hadn’t been for President Reagan taking a very deep and personal interest in my case, it would probably be some years before I would stand here and say, ‘Thank you, Mr. President,’ ” Daniloff said at the White House.

Daniloff, his wife, Ruth, and two children, daughter Miranda, 23, and son Caleb, 16, arrived at the White House on a warm sunny afternoon in a long silver limousine for a meeting with Reagan that lasted about 40 minutes. Attending the session were First Lady Nancy Reagan, Vice President George Bush, national security adviser John M. Poindexter and White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan.

After the meeting, Daniloff said he was very pleased with the conditions under which he was released. “There was no trial in my case,” he said. “My honor and integrity were preserved.”

‘Terrific Achievement’

He also hailed the agreement to allow dissident Soviet physicist Yuri Orlov and his wife, Irina, to emigrate to the United States as a “terrific achievement.”

The arrangement reached by the two governments also allowed a Soviet employee of the U.N. Secretariat, Gennady F. Zakharov, to plead no contest to three counts of espionage charge and then leave the United States. Zakharov was arrested Aug. 23, and Daniloff was detained a week later by eight KGB agents after a Soviet acquaintance handed him a package that allegedly contained secret maps and photographs of military installations. U.S. officials called his arrest a frame-up and said the Soviets detained him to force the release of Zakharov.

When asked whether he believed that other American journalists might be apprehended by the Soviets if a Soviet agent were again arrested in the United States, Daniloff said he is doubtful because his situation had created “far too big a fuss, far too big a political event.”

The Soviets “were totally surprised by the enormous outcry that occurred here and it created a whole new political situation,” he said.

About to End Tour

Daniloff, who was about to end a 5 1/2-year tour of duty in the Soviet Union when he was seized by the KGB, said his immediate plans “are to go back to work for my magazine and to go cover the summit in Iceland.”

After spending his first night back on U.S. soil in a luxury hotel, Daniloff and his wife strolled across the street Wednesday morning to the offices of U.S. News & World Report, where he was greeted by a large welcoming banner along with cheers and hugs from his colleagues.