Five Latin Nations Agree on Costa Rica’s Peace Plan : Set Aside Reagan’s Proposal

The presidents of five Central American nations, setting aside a peace proposal by President Reagan, agreed today on a regional peace plan that rests on their being able to work out further, delicate agreements that have eluded them for years.

Diplomats and other sources said the presidents of Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica arranged the fragile plan at their two-day summit. It calls for a cease-fire within 3 1/2 months.

The agreement was based on a proposal submitted by President Oscar Arias Sanchez of Costa Rica last Feb. 15 to end Nicaragua’s civil war and the leftist insurgency in El Salvador.

“The principal goal of the summit has been achieved,” said Luis Solis, chief of staff for the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry. “It’s a tremendous breakthrough.”

At the White House in Washington, spokesman Roman Popadiuk said: “We hope they come to an agreement that promotes peace and democracy in the region. But it is prudent to wait and see the outcome of the summit.”

‘Keep Your Fingers Crossed’

House Speaker Jim Wright called the accord “substantial,” adding, “You probably need to keep your fingers crossed and hope it doesn’t come unglued.”

Roberto Viera, El Salvador’s vice minister of communications, described the agreement as “conceptual” but an “important step forward.”

Viera said the United States and the Soviet Union and its allies will be “exhorted” to halt aid to insurgent forces in Central America, but he acknowledged that there is no guarantee they will do so.

“We have agreed on all points,” said Mario Quinones Amezquita, Guatemala’s foreign minister, “but there’s still much to do.” He would not elaborate.

The diplomats, who insisted on anonymity, said the plan establishes a commission made up of the foreign ministers of the five countries. The commission will convene within 15 days of the signing of the agreement, expected later today.

The commission will be charged with bringing about a regional cease-fire within 90 days of its first meeting, plus a simultaneous agreement by all five countries to halt any aid to insurgents trying to overthrow another government in the area.

The ministers also will put together a document outlining civil and political rights that each country will be obliged to adopt at the time of the cease-fire.

Resolution of those key issues has eluded diplomats from the five nations since their search for peace began Jan. 12, 1983, with the initial meeting of the so-called Contadora group of nations--named after the Panamanian island where they first met.

Before the Guatemala talks began, the Reagan Administration advanced a peace initiative Wednesday dealing only with Nicaragua, whose Sandinista government is battling U.S.-supported contra rebels.

The presidents agreed beforehand not to formally consider President Reagan’s proposal, although Guatemalan President Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo said they would discuss it.

Asked whether the Reagan initiative lent impetus to an agreement, Solis replied: “I don’t think the Reagan plan was any more important than any of the others. President Arias said all along that the Reagan plan was incompatible with his own.”