Fouled Up Gorbachev Welcome to Iceland : Soviet Ambassador Recalled After Blunder

The Soviet ambassador to Iceland, sidelined throughout the recent U.S.-Soviet summit on the North Atlantic island, has been recalled to Moscow seemingly in disgrace, diplomatic sources said today.

Ambassador Evgeny Kosarev, 67, apparently fell afoul of the Kremlin over arrangements he made that resulted in the bad timing of Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s arrival on the island Oct. 10 for his Oct. 11-12 summit with President Reagan, they said.

Unlike Reagan, Gorbachev was not welcomed on arrival by the Icelandic president and prime minister because they were at the formal opening of the island nation’s Parliament. Only the foreign minister met Gorbachev at the airport.

Other Icelandic sources, said Kosarev’s wife, Valentina, a former Bolshoi opera singer who dresses on the dull side, was deliberately slighted by Gorbachev’s fashionable wife, Raisa, throughout the visit.

The Icelandic Foreign Ministry has confirmed that Kosarev is ending his posting after only two years. Officials said they were puzzled by his recall. He had been expected to remain in Iceland four years.