Duarte Praised by Reagan, Kisses the American Flag

President Reagan today praised Salvadoran President Jose Napoleon Duarte as a champion of democracy and called on Nicaragua to follow his example in complying with an Aug. 7 Central American peace plan, one that Reagan himself has called “fatally flawed.”

At the start of a state visit that saw Duarte break protocol during a colorful White House welcome by kissing the American flag, Reagan said the Salvadoran leader “has proven wrong the cynics and pessimists and detractors of democracy.”

Avoiding any mention of his coming request for $270 million in aid to the Nicaraguan contras, Reagan also rated the prospects for peace in Central America as “better than at any time in this decade.”

The two leaders later spent more than an hour discussing how the situation in El Salvador, where Duarte’s U.S.-backed government has been battling leftist guerrillas, fits into the outlook for the Aug. 7 regional peace accord.

Pledges Full Compliance

A senior Administration official said Duarte expressed appreciation for the support his government has received from the United States and pledged full compliance with the peace plan. The issue of U.S. aid to the contras, a major bone of contention in discussions of the peace plan, was not raised, the official said.

“What we wanted to do this morning with President Duarte was to talk about his military situation, his economic situation, his political situation--not talk about other countries,” the official told reporters.

Noting how Duarte has improved human rights and opened a dialogue with Marxist-led insurgents, Reagan, in an implicit reference to Nicaragua, said: “Others in the region can do no less if they expect to end the strife that ravages their countries. The choice is theirs.”

Duarte, the Administration’s staunchest ally in Central America, was accorded full military honors, including a 21-gun salute, as he arrived at the White House to open the official portion of his first state visit to Washington.

Stability ‘a Step Closer’

The welcome was a warm one. Duarte, who owes his own political survival to U.S. aid, embraced Reagan as he arrived and later, in an extraordinary gesture aimed at America’s critics abroad, strode across the South Lawn to kiss the Stars and Stripes.

Duarte said political stability in Central America “is a step closer” as a result of a regional peace agreement signed Aug. 7 in Guatemala City, but echoed Reagan’s view that “there is reason for caution.”