Gorbachev to Meet Irish Leader April 2

Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev will meet Irish Prime Minister Charles Haughey during a stopover at Shannon Airport on April 2 on his way to Cuba, Tass news agency said Friday.

On April 5, Gorbachev is due in Britain for a two-day visit that will include talks with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

An Irish government spokesman said Gorbachev had initiated the meeting, which would “provide . . . an opportunity to enhance further the excellent relations, including the developing economic relations, between Ireland and the Soviet Union.”

Last year the Irish Airport Authority signed a multimillion dollar contract with the Soviet airline Aeroflot to provide facilities at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.