Don’t Undercut Arms Position, Reagan Asks : He Pleads With Congress Not to Hobble Him in Reykjavik Negotiations With Gorbachev

President Reagan, saying that he sees “positive signs” of progress toward an arms reduction agreement, Thursday pleaded with Congress not to undercut his negotiating position before his Iceland meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

House and Senate conferees have been trying to work out a compromise on arms control measures in the 1987 defense spending bill, but Reagan’s argument that this could hobble him in his dealings with Gorbachev could weigh heavily against any agreement being reached before the two leaders meet in Reykjavik on Oct. 11-12.

‘Definite Movement’

Declaring that he has seen “some positive signs and definite movement” by the Soviets, Reagan said that’s why he’s meeting with Gorbachev and “why, in these closing days, Congress must act responsibly.”

“It must not tie my hands in these crucial discussions,” Reagan said. “And it must not undercut our negotiating position. I know the American people are united in the support of our efforts and we need the same support from the Congress.”

The defense bill passed by the Democratic-controlled House, reflecting dissatisfaction with progress on arms control, includes a ban on nuclear testing and requires continued compliance with the unratified 1979 strategic arms limitation treaty. The Senate bill has no binding provisions on either topic, and a conference committee is trying to resolve the differences.

Reagan spoke at a White House briefing at which a senior aide also disclosed that the President has proposed a news blackout by both sides during his sessions with Gorbachev at Reykjavik, the Icelandic capital.

At Reagan’s suggestion, a news blackout also was initially imposed during their first summit in Geneva last November. But despite agreeing to the blackout, Gorbachev and other Soviet officials briefed reporters on their version of the sessions.

Groundwork for Summit

Reagan and two senior aides, both of whom would not talk for attribution, were questioned by a small group of journalists at the briefing in the White House theater. They emphasized that the meeting in Iceland is not expected to result in any substantive agreements, but is expected to lay the groundwork for a full-scale summit in the United States, either late this year or early next year.

The Reykjavik talks, Reagan said, “are no substitute for Mr. Gorbachev’s visit here. They’re an informal session to make concrete preparations . . . I thought could be important for the summit” in the United States.

Asked to identify the “positive signs and definite movement” on the Soviet side, Reagan said:

“I think they’ve been amazing and they’ve been since this man (Gorbachev) came into power there. And that is, he is the first . . . Russian leader that has ever proposed actually eliminating weapons.”

Reagan, citing Gorbachev’s proposal to eliminate all nuclear weapons by the year 2000, said, “I think this is an opportunity that shouldn’t be lost.” The President never specified in what area of arms control the two sides might be nearing agreement, though his aides have indicated an accord is likely to be reached first on limiting intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe.

Despite several acrimonious U.S.-Soviet exchanges and the arrest of American journalist Nicholas Daniloff on spying charges since the Geneva summit, Reagan said he believes that at Reykjavik he can resume the relatively good relationship that he and Gorbachev established at Geneva.

Reagan said he will not “be snowballed into believing that the leopard is changing his spots” and realizes that Gorbachev is dedicated to the Soviet form of government and “believes much of the propaganda about us.”

“But, at the same time,” the President said, “I think in the private conversations we had, there was a certain frankness that I have never felt in any of the other leaders of the Soviet Union that I have met with.”

Although Reagan has conferred with former Soviet Ambassador Anatoly F. Dobrynin and former Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko, Gorbachev is the only top Soviet leader he has met. The President was widely criticized during his first term for failing to meet with Gorbachev’s predecessors.

Gromyko is currently president of the Soviet Union, a largely ceremonial position, while Dobrynin is a principal adviser within the Communist Party Central Committee’s Secretariat on U.S.-Soviet relations.

Brushes Off Criticism

Brushing off conservatives’ criticism that his agreement to meet Gorbachev in Iceland and the Administration’s arrangements to free Daniloff indicated he has gone soft on the Soviets, Reagan declared:

“It will be a cold day in Hades when I go soft on communism. I was a long time ago in that battle, and I have never changed my view of it. On the other hand, as I said to him in our meeting in Geneva, he and I are uniquely in a position today where we could bring about World War III or we’re also in a position where we could bring about peace in the world.

“And I made it plain then that we don’t like their system and we know they don’t like ours, but we have to live in the world together. We’re both going to be better off in a world of peace. So, I’m not going to give away the store just to get an agreement on paper.”

Although the Soviets have wanted the summit to concentrate on an arms reduction agreement, Reagan emphasized that they “understand the agenda is not one-sided,” he said.

“We want progress with the Soviets on strategic deterrence, human rights, regional conflicts and bilateral relations. But we will not sacrifice our principles, values or interest just to obtain agreement.”

Senior Reagan aides disclosed that plans for the summit in Iceland developed quickly after Sept. 19, when Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze delivered a letter from Gorbachev to Reagan proposing an earlier meeting to clear up several matters before a summit in the United States. The following day, Reagan sent word by Secretary of State George P. Shultz to the Soviets emphasizing his earlier stand that there could be no meeting until Daniloff was freed.

Eight days later, Daniloff was released, and the following day the United States freed Gennady F. Zakharov, a convicted Soviet spy, and disclosed that the Soviets also have agreed to allow a former leader of the Soviet dissident movement, Yuri Orlov, and his wife, Irina, to leave the Soviet Union by Oct. 7.

Reagan earlier had opposed a summit in the United States before the Nov. 4 elections. Some Democrats have described his decision to meet in Iceland as an “October surprise,” designed to boost Republican chances of retaining control of the Senate in the elections.