Soviet Arms Proposals Called Part of Inseparable Package : Talks Not a Failure, Argentine Leader Quotes Gorbachev

Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev was quoted as saying today that his disarmament proposals at the Reykjavik summit with President Reagan remain on the table as a package that cannot be split up.

Visiting Argentine President Raul Alfonsin met Gorbachev in the Kremlin for talks and later told a news conference that “the general secretary confirmed that we don’t have to speak about a failure” at Reykjavik.

“It has been proved that it is possible to achieve major agreements,” Alfonsin said. Saying he was quoting Gorbachev almost verbatim, he added, “This meeting should not be understood as a failure.”

‘Our Way Forward’

“He stressed firmly that we shall stand by our proposals. This is our way forward,” Alfonsin reported.

The Argentine was asked if Gorbachev made clear whether a settlement could be reached on reducing medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe independent of solving the “Star Wars” dispute that proved to be the major obstacle in Iceland.

Alfonsin replied, “But everything is in a package. It is not possible to single anything out.”

Moscow’s chief arms negotiator Viktor Karpov, on a tour of NATO capitals, suggested Tuesday that the Soviet Union might negotiate a cut in medium-range missiles in Europe without linking the deal to U.S. “Star Wars” plans on which the summit foundered.

‘Ask Mr. Gorbachev’

Asked to clarify whether the package precluded any deal on medium-range missiles, Alfonsin said: “I cannot answer that. Ask Mr. Gorbachev.”

Asked whether he had urged the Soviet leader to consider a separate medium-range agreement, Alfonsin said, “I repeat that there is a package and it is not possible to exclude any element.”

In London today, senior British officials expressed surprise at Karpov’s public statement that a separate deal could be cut.

In separate talks earlier Tuesday with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Karpov failed to give a substantive reply when asked about the same thing, the British officials said.

Continuing Talks Urged

Meanwhile today, in the clearest signal yet that Gorbachev is willing to continue talks with Reagan despite the collapse of the Iceland summit, the Politburo published a report calling for “continuing contacts and talks.”

Although the report did not specifically mention the possibility of holding another summit in Washington this year, as agreed, or early next year, the Politburo said it is necessary to “step up” further efforts with a view to reducing and ultimately eliminating nuclear weapons.

The Politburo approved Gorbachev’s approach during the summit and regretted that his arms proposals “failed to materialize into binding accords.”

“The only reason for that was ultimately the American Administration’s stubborn unwillingness to create conditions for endorsing these accords through strengthening the ABM (anti-ballistic missile) regime and adopting corresponding pledges equal for both sides,” it said.