First Lady Denies Pushing Arms Pact: ‘Everybody Wants It’

Nancy Reagan declined to take the credit for pushing President Reagan to conclude an arms agreement with the Soviets, saying “everybody wants it.”

At an anti-drug ceremony at the White House today, Mrs. Reagan was asked about persistent reports that she wants the President to go down in history as a peacemaker and had urged him to step up efforts for a medium-range missile accord with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

“That’s not true,” she said. “Everybody wants it. I’m glad we made this progress.”

And she told a reporter, “Oh, come on,” when asked if she was making plans to entertain Raisa Gorbachev, the Soviet first lady, when a Reagan-Gorbachev summit meeting is expected to be held in Washington in late November.