Contras Agree to Direct Talks : Reagan Moves to Resume CIA Arms Drops

Two days after the Nicaraguan government took steps toward complying with a regional peace agreement, President Reagan moved Tuesday to resume CIA airdrops of weapons to the Contras after a one-week halt ordered by Congress.

The President declared that the Contras have made a good-faith effort to reach a cease-fire but that the Marxist-led Sandinista regime in Nicaragua has not, thereby certifying that the drops of weapons can resume.

“The . . . peace plan can succeed only if the Sandinistas have reason to compromise and institute democratic reforms,” Reagan said in his first public comments since the presidents of five Central American nations, including Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, met over the weekend to review progress toward peace in the region.

‘Must Have Courage’

“We must have the courage to stand behind those who continue to put their lives on the line for democracy in Nicaragua.”

While welcoming renewed peace efforts in Central America, the Administration also pressed ahead with plans to provide new funding for the rebels fighting the Sandinistas.

As of the start of the week, the White House had decided to seek $100 million for the Contras over a five-month period, while holding out the possibility that more would be sought after July 1, said an Administration official speaking on condition of anonymity.

To Resume in Day or Two

Reagan’s decision to resume the arms shipments, an expected development, reflects the Administration’s assessment that progress toward peace thus far has not been sufficient to continue the moratorium. An Administration official said weapons deliveries will begin in a day or two.

“It is clear and must be (clear) to the world that a cease-fire has not occurred, that the resistance has made good-faith efforts toward a cease-fire and that the Sandinistas have not,” White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said.

The funding for the CIA shipments of previously stockpiled weapons and ammunition was halted for a week by congressional order while the Central American presidents met over the weekend in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Although the resumed air drops will provide weapons already in the pipeline to the rebels, the Administration is facing a problem over longer-term assistance.

Must Convince Congress

Operating under tight deadlines for seeking fiscal 1988 funding for the rebels, Reagan must convince Congress in the next two weeks that the Contras are making every effort for peace and that, without the military pressure, the Sandinistas would be unwilling to negotiate with them.

At the same time, Ortega has announced a series of democratic reforms that the Administration and its critics believe could undercut support in Congress for Reagan’s Contra assistance program.

As he and four other Central American leaders were meeting Saturday in San Jose to assess compliance with the peace accord, Ortega disclosed that his government would abide by the terms of the Central American peace accord by lifting a state of emergency, freeing political prisoners and holding face-to-face talks with leaders of the resistance.

‘Track Record Is Clear’

Fitzwater, however, said in a prepared statement: “The Sandinistas’ track record is clear and must be considered in evaluating the latest Sandinista offer.

“We welcome the new promises but note that while Daniel Ortega was in Costa Rica making them, his government was arresting prominent democratic leaders inside Nicaragua.” He was referring to the arrest, and subsequent release, of several opposition leaders this week.

The Administration sharply criticized Ortega’s promise to free political prisoners if a country outside Central America will accept them. Such an offer is “not an amnesty at all,” State Department spokesman Charles Redman said, but “a choice between exile and jail.”

Under a timetable set by Congress in providing short-term aid to the rebels, Reagan is likely to seek renewed funding for the rest of fiscal 1988 next Tuesday. Congress is expected to vote on the aid Feb. 3-4.

‘Gut Issue for the President’ “This is really a gut issue for the President. It is his highest foreign policy objective,” Rep. Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.), who was co-chairman of the committee that investigated the Iran-Contra scandal, said. “The Administration will pull out every stop in order to win this vote.”

Indeed, White House officials have made clear that Contra aid will remain a top priority as the President enters his eighth year in office today. He has scheduled two speeches in the next three days on the subject, and senior national security officials have begun a series of meetings with members of Congress whose votes are considered crucial.

Thus, Fitzwater said, the Administration “will be watching” Ortega to make sure that the democratic reforms he announced over the weekend will be carried out.

Staff writer Norman Kempster contributed to this story.