Gorbachev Hints of Flexibility on a United Germany in NATO : Reunification: But he warns against the imposition of any solution over his nation’s objections.

Although he again warned against the imposition of any solution over his nation’s objections, Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev hinted Sunday that he may be less opposed than previously to a united Germany inside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Gorbachev’s response to questions in the U.S.-Soviet summit’s final press conference, taken with earlier comments to President Bush, suggest that he is coming to accept the inevitability of German membership in the North Atlantic alliance, if Soviet security concerns can be allayed.

Further, Secretary of State James A. Baker III said in an interview after Gorbachev’s departure that the Soviets made a new proposal that NATO and the Warsaw Pact sign a political agreement that would give East European nations, including the Soviet Union, increased assurance against threats from the new Germany.

With both the Bush Administration and the Soviets struggling to find a way to resolve the highly divisive issue, Baker said that the idea, though still very vague, is “worth at least exploring and taking a look at. We need to flesh out the details of what . . . shape that agreement might have.”

He said that the United States will consult with its allies before deciding how to proceed.

Some Administration officials urged caution in attaching too much significance to Gorbachev’s hints indicating a softer stance on Germany--the chief issue addressed at the summit. But most said that they see signs of a concessionary step.

“We’re hopeful this reflects some movement in the Soviet position,” a senior Administration official said. “The important thing here is, this is the first time we’ve heard it from Gorbachev.”

At the summit-ending press conference at the White House, Bush repeated the U.S. and Western position that a unified Germany must remain in NATO. Gorbachev, however, did not repeat his opposition when his turn to speak came.

Bush then added that “we are in full agreement that the matter of alliance membership is . . . a matter for the Germans to decide” in accordance with the Helsinki Final Act, the 1975 agreement signed by the United States, the Soviet Union and European nations on European borders and security rights.

Again, Gorbachev did not dispute the statement. The elected leaders of both West and East Germany already have said that they and their countrymen want their united nation inside NATO. Gorbachev’s silence--and comments Gorbachev made to Bush Thursday--implied a willingness to accept that prospect, U.S. officials said.

Gorbachev, at the press conference, made several other remarks that raised hopes of an eventual compromise on the issue of German membership.

He spoke of the need for a “transitional period” of some years during which Soviet forces would be withdrawn from East Germany and during which the World War II victor nations would give up their residual powers over Germany.

The Soviet Union would support any solution that would “strengthen, not weaken” security in Europe, Gorbachev said. And he expressed optimism that a solution acceptable to both the United States and the Soviet Union will be found.

But “nobody wants his security diminished,” Gorbachev said. As the Soviets would be concerned if the United States felt its security threatened, he said, so the United States--with equal desire for global stability--should be concerned about Soviet apprehensions.

“If decisions are made of the kinds that will cause concern to the Soviet Union, this would not be beneficial to the Soviet Union,” he said. “This would not be beneficial to others as well.”

The Soviet leader reiterated that his nation would react strongly to any sign that its concerns were being disregarded, including perhaps pulling out of arms control negotiations.

If such an impasse were reached, “we (the Soviets) should go back and see where we are,” he said. “What should we be doing with our armed forces, which we are both reforming and reducing? What should we do about Vienna (where NATO and the Warsaw Pact members are negotiating cuts in conventional forces in Europe)? How should we behave there?”

Such a reassessment would “certainly slow things down,” he said.

But, stressing an optimistic note, he also said: “I believe that a way out will be found to mutual satisfaction.” He joined Bush in directing that the Vienna negotiations be intensified and in pledging to complete a treaty there before the end of the year.

Baker, appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said the Soviet side complained that the nine Western moves offered to assuage Moscow’s concerns about a Germany inside NATO are “not enough.”

Those included a Western willingness to consider limits on the military of Germany and other nations in a broader conventional forces treaty, speeding up of talks on limiting battlefield nuclear weapons in Europe, allowing Soviet troops to remain in East German territory for a transition period and helping build housing in the Soviet Union for returning Soviet troops.

Seeking further assurances against a possible German threat, he said, the Soviets spoke of “the potential for some sort of an agreement between the NATO alliance and the Warsaw Pact” that covers other important security points. “Maybe it’s just some sort of dialogue that begins, or some sort of confidence-building measures” between the two alliances, Baker said. The idea could bear promise, or “we may find in the final analysis that it has very little support on either side,” Baker said.

THE TWO GERMANYS

New Germany will merge two contrasting nations and political traditions. Capitalist West is larger and more prosperous, with twice the area and five times the GNP of its formerly Communist neighbor. Both are heavily industrialized and include iron, steel and chemicals among top products.

Area (square miles) West: 95,983 East: 41,722

Population West: 61 million East: 16.5 million

Labor Force West: 27.8 million East: 8.9 million

Catholics West: 45% East: 7%

Protestants West: 44% East: 45%

GNP West: $1.1 trillion East: $207 billion

Source: The Stateman’s Year-Book, World Factbook