U.S., Soviet Leaders Stress Peace Hopes

Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev today wished the American people the best for 1987 and said the superpowers must learn to coexist “whether we like one another or not.”

President Reagan, his proposal for a televised exchange of greetings snubbed by the Kremlin, spoke of arms control and human rights in a Voice of America radio address to the Soviet people.

Gorbachev’s message to America came in the form of answers to written questions posed by U.S. journalist Joseph Kingsbury-Smith which were distributed by Tass press agency.

Asked what he would like to tell the American people on the occasion of the New Year, Gorbachev replied:

“I would like, first of all, to say that Soviet people want to live in peace with the Americans and do not feel any hostility to them.”

Nations Interdependent

Gorbachev said the reality of the nuclear age, in which nations are increasingly interdependent economically and politically, “rules out the security of one to the detriment or at the expense of the security of another.”

“I shall repeat once again: Only together can we perish or survive. So whether we like one another or not, it is essential to learn to coexist, to live in peace on this tiny and fragile planet,” he said.

Gorbachev said it was up to the Reagan Administration to decide whether the United States wants a runaway arms race or the reduction and elimination of nuclear weapons.

“Good evening and ‘S Novym Godom, ‘ “ Reagan began his shortwave message, opening with the traditional Russian New Year’s greeting.

Steps Taken Peace

Turning first to arms control, Reagan said he was disappointed that more had not been accomplished in the last year, speaking of setbacks and frustrations.

“And yet, in 1986, the United States and Soviet Union took major steps towards lasting peace,” he said, citing developments at the Geneva arms talks and at his Reykjavik summit with Gorbachev in October.

He said the United States would make every effort to turn arms control proposals put forward at Reykjavik into verifiable agreements, and hoped the Soviet Union would approach arms discussions in the same spirit.

But he said, “Peace is built not just on agreements about arms reduction, but on understanding between peoples. The American people are deeply concerned with the fate of individual people, wherever they might be, throughout the world.”