2 First Ladies Spend Last Day in a ‘Standoff’

Nancy Reagan was describing the conflict between capitalist and Communist life styles Wednesday when she declared “a Mexican standoff.” But as the fourth U.S.-Soviet summit drew to a close, she might just as easily have been talking about relations between herself and Raisa Gorbachev.

For the second and final time, the two first ladies spent virtually all day together. Clearly, it was several hours too many.

How testy was this close encounter? Very, sometimes even bordering on rude, in sharp contrast to the fragile hand-in-hand truce that had prevailed Sunday. Wednesday clearly signaled that their rift was alive and well, and had even widened.

The two women tried to one-up each other throughout a strained morning tour of icons on display in the Tretyakov Gallery. At one point Mrs. Gorbachev tried to silence Mrs. Reagan, who purposely kept on talking while her Soviet counterpart fumed.

As Elaine Crispen, Mrs. Reagan’s press secretary, described it, the U.S. First Lady “is learning to roll with the punches.”

Later, watching a special performance at the Bolshoi theater, the two women sat at opposite ends of a VIP box with their husbands, barely acknowledging one another. It was hard to imagine that they would warm up in time to enjoy the so-called “intimate, almost family” dinner that had been planned for the Reagans at the Gorbachevs’ dacha or country house.

Crispen reiterated Wednesday that Mrs. Reagan and Mrs. Gorbachev come from “two different worlds.” Asked if there were signs of tension or friction, she replied: “Is it tension or friction, or just two people who might not ordinarily seek each other out but have been put together because of . . . their husbands?”

Could Be Last Meeting

This could well be the last time that the two first ladies have to put up with each other before President Reagan leaves office next Jan. 20.

At his Wednesday news conference, Reagan did not rule out a fifth summit, probably in a European city such as Geneva--and already there is talk among U.S. officials that wives may not be invited. U.S.-Soviet relations were thought to be advanced by having each First Lady visit the other superpower’s capital, but some U.S. advisers see little public relations value to another encounter in a neutral site.

At the Moscow summit, Mrs. Reagan seemed more determined than ever to resist being overshadowed by Mrs. Gorbachev. By all accounts, it was Mrs. Gorbachev’s high-pitched voice, professorial tone and tendency to lecture that got on Mrs. Reagan’s nerves.

“How do you spell relief?” quipped one U.S. official, obviously pleased that the summit was nearly over. “Not having to listen to R-A-I-S-A.”

No one around Mrs. Reagan seemed impressed by Mrs. Gorbachev as a hostess. Though she had been expected to be more accommodating on her home turf, the Soviet First Lady was just as willful as she had been in Washington. Crispen complained that the Tretyakov tour, organized by Mrs. Gorbachev, was as enjoyable as a “Chinese fire drill.”

A War of Wills

So the scene was set for a war of wills Wednesday in the unlikeliest of settings: a gallery housing the world’s finest collection of Russian art. The museum, closed for remodeling until 1990, was opened especially for Wednesday’s tour.

Shortly before the appointed hour, Mrs. Gorbachev suddenly changed the place in the museum where she was to meet Mrs. Reagan. One member of the White House advance staff groused: “You know, Raisa has no advance staff and we never know what’s going to happen. They say they’ll do one thing and they change plans all the time.”

Mrs. Gorbachev, arriving ahead of the American First Lady, griped to reporters that Mrs. Reagan was late, an accusation Crispen later denied.

“Maybe we’ll have a conversation,” Mrs. Gorbachev told the reporters, “because you’re on time and the guests are late.” She chatted with the journalists for several minutes about the icons, describing the faces of the saints as “quite open and friendly” but never alluding to their religious content.

“Do you see them as I tell you or do you see them differently from me?”she asked the reporters. “We should have a dialogue.”

None of the reporters accepted the invitation.

Handshake, Bouquet of Roses

When Mrs. Reagan arrived, Mrs. Gorbachev welcomed her American counterpart with a handshake and a bouquet of roses. Then she turned to the icons and started to tell Mrs. Reagan about them.

“Now wait a minute, I want to say something, I want to say something,” Mrs. Reagan broke in. Mrs. Gorbachev gave her an icy stare.

But the American First Lady was determined to have her say. She thanked her hostess and said she was “very grateful to everyone” for the exhibition of icons and “very moved, especially because not a lot of people have been able to see them.”

Mrs. Gorbachev tried to get on with the tour.

“We have decided there will be no interview in the Tretyakov,” she commanded. “So please allow us to see the icons.”

Religion Not Mentioned

But Mrs. Reagan would have none of it, especially after the American reporters told her that Mrs. Gorbachev had spoken to them about the icons without mentioning religion.

“Ah-ha,” the U.S. First Lady said softly, widening her eyes. “I don’t know how you can neglect the religious elements, I mean they’re there for everyone to see them.”

Then, while Mrs. Gorbachev waited impatiently, Mrs. Reagan answered a question about her impressions of Communist society.

“We have two different ways of living,” she noted.

Was she a convert?

“No,” she said, “and neither are they. I’d call it a Mexican standoff.”