Arms Treaty by May ‘Possible,’ Shultz Asserts

Secretary of State George P. Shultz said Sunday that he continues to believe it is “possible” to have a treaty limiting long-range nuclear arms in shape for consideration by President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev at their planned May summit meeting in Moscow.

“Both sides would like to see a strategic arms treaty, if we can get a good one that’s solid and we see in our interests, and of course they have to see it in theirs,” Shultz said during a television interview.

Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if he thought it would be possible for officials to reach agreement on the shape of such a treaty by the late May target date, Shultz replied: “I think it’s very hard work and by no means in the bag, but it’s possible.

“But we’re not going to try to have one just for the sake of a treaty. We’ll be willing to go forward, and the President will, if it’s something we regard as good.”

Reminded of his past warnings against entering summit talks unless agenda items are ready for action, Shultz replied that he does indeed consider it “important that summit meetings have content.” But, at the same time, he said, “we’re now evolving a process where perhaps they’ll come to be a little more normal.”

Plenty on the Plate

“There are plenty of things on our plate right now that can come to fruition, other than the strategic arms treaty,” the secretary added.

Shultz named no other agenda items, but it was clear that one overriding question will be development of a compromise formula for withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan that takes into consideration a U.S. demand that Moscow also quit arming its Afghan allies.

The Afghan question will have top priority when Shultz meets Tuesday with Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze, who arrived here Sunday night. He is scheduled to meet Tuesday and Wednesday with the secretary in the second of a series of talks designed to clear the way for the Moscow summit.

The Shultz-Shevardnadze talks will presumably fix a date for the Moscow session. They are also expected to deal with broadening support for the Reagan Administration’s Middle Eastern peace initiative and with efforts to end the Iran-Iraq War, which is now in its eighth year.

Although Shultz has frequently criticized the Soviet Union for continuing arms shipments to Marxist-led Nicaragua, he said last week in an interview that he did not expect the brief incursion into Honduras by Nicaraguan forces to dominate his talks with Shevardnadze.