Gorbachev Flies to N.Y., Vows Efforts for Peace

Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev arrived today for meetings with President Reagan and U.N. leaders, pledging to do his part toward easing tensions in “a world that is going through some very crucial changes.”

The Aeroflot plane carrying Gorbachev, his wife, Raisa, and three top Soviet foreign policy advisers touched down at John F. Kennedy International Airport shortly before 3 p.m. EST.

It was the first visit by a Soviet leader to New York since Nikita S. Khrushchev’s 1960 trip.

Gorbachev, dressed in gray overcoat and hat, left the plane with his wife after the 10-hour flight and walked down to the Tarmac, where they were welcomed by Aly Teymour, the U.N. chief of protocol. Also on hand was U.S. Chief of Protocol Selwa Roosevelt.

Crucial Changes

Addressing the crowd, Gorbachev said: “We are living in a world that is going through some very crucial changes and we all, all nations, have their own concerns and interests. We shall be sharing our concerns and interests in thinking over the current situation.”

“I believe that we can safely say even now that the conversations and (Wednesday’s informal summit) meeting itself will doubtless promote greater dynamism in the dialogue and relations between our two countries,” Gorbachev added.

The Soviet leader said he expected to meet with American business leaders and officials of other countries and that he hoped these will be “useful and fruitful days. We are certainly prepared to make our contribution toward that end.”

Gorbachev was accompanied to New York by Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze and Politburo member Alexander N. Yakovlev, and by Deputy Premier Vladimir Kamentsev, Tass press agency said.

There was advance word that the Soviet leader may offer new proposals to ease superpower tensions, strengthen the United Nations and improve the world’s environment. A U.S. official acknowledged the possibility of a “grand gesture,” such as a reduction of Soviet troops in Czechoslovakia and Hungary.

A motorcade of about 45 limousines, including Soviet diplomats, U.N. officials and security officers, headed for Manhattan from the airport, giving the city the first taste of the traffic tie-ups expected during the Gorbachevs’ three-day visit.

U.N. Address Wednesday

The Gorbachevs are staying at the Soviet Mission to the United Nations, a 16-mile trip from the airport.

On Wednesday, the Soviet leader addresses the United Nations and meets with President Reagan and President-elect George Bush. After a day of sightseeing in Manhattan, he then travels to Cuba and Great Britain.

In a dispatch by a diplomatic correspondent distributed shortly after his departure, Tass said Gorbachev intends to discuss the entire range of U.S.-Soviet issues with Reagan and Bush.