Lawmakers Urge Caution on Soviet Arms Proposal

President Reagan said Tuesday that the Soviet Union is giving “every appearance of wanting to move ahead” on an agreement eliminating medium-range missiles in Europe, but congressional leaders urged the Administration to proceed cautiously.

Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va.) warned that Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev’s latest proposal “is cosmetically attractive but, at bottom, works against the cohesion and steadfastness of the Atlantic Alliance.”

Republican leaders of the House and Senate were summoned to the White House and joined Reagan in the Cabinet Room, where Secretary of State George P. Shultz talked for nearly an hour about his arms discussions in Moscow last week.

Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) said it is too early to tell if there is broad-based support for Gorbachev’s proposal, which calls for eliminating shorter-range nuclear missiles as well as medium-range weapons in Europe.

“I know that some senators have already contacted me, wanting to see Shultz, want to go into detail about precisely what happened,” Dole said, talking with reporters in the driveway later.

“Everybody, I think, is expressing some reservation, at the same time expressing cautious optimism--whatever that means,” Dole added.

Posing for pictures with the lawmakers, Reagan was asked about prospects for an agreement this year. “I’m not going to hazard any guesses,” he replied.

Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater quoted Reagan as telling the group he is “optimistic but realistic” about prospects.

“The Soviets give every appearance of wanting to move ahead on (medium-range missiles),” Reagan said, according to Fitzwater. “But there is a lot of fine print to be worked out. We will watch it very closely.”

There are some fears in Europe that elimination of the nuclear weapons would remove the major deterrent to a Soviet invasion with conventional forces.

Gen. Bernard W. Rogers, commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, has recommended that the United States deploy shorter-range missiles in Europe to match the Soviet forces. He also has opposed eliminating the medium-range missiles from Europe.

The shorter-range weapons have a range of 350 to 1,000 miles, while the medium-range weapons can strike targets up to 3,000 miles away.