HELSINKI SUMMIT: THE KEY ISSUES

The crisis in the Persian Gulf will lead the “new business” list at Sunday’s one-day summit in Helsinki, but President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev have a long list of “old business” to discuss as well. The summit agenda includes:

PERSIAN GULF

*The Bush Administration has been delighted by Soviet cooperation in the anti-Iraq campaign. Early on, the Soviets condemned Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, cut off the flow of weapons and spare parts to Baghdad and gave the green light to the U.S. military buildup in the Gulf.

*Although some Soviet officials have voiced concerns about the growing military deployment, the Soviets have taken no steps to forestall it. That contrasts sharply with the past, when U.S. military moves in the Middle East caused the Soviets to put their troops on alert.

*The key question: How much more does Bush want? U.S. officials say he will push Gorbachev to quickly withdraw from Iraq more than 100 Soviet military advisers whose presence has become a touchy issue. But officials differ in their assessments of how hard Bush will push that issue and how much he is willing to compromise.

SOVIET ECONOMY

*Gorbachev is facing an economic “disaster” at home that is “only going to get worse,” says one senior U.S. official. The Soviet leader has made clear that he wants economic aid from the West and needs it fast.

*The Administration does not object to other countries providing aid. For domestic political reasons, however, it has been unwilling to move too quickly to commit itself to the effort. Now, because of the Soviet role in the Gulf, that reluctance may be melting.

*One unresolved question: Will the Soviets pass a new law guaranteeing citizens the right to leave the country? If so, the Soviets would be eligible for “most favored nation” trading status with the United States, a major symbolic victory for Gorbachev.

*Earlier this year, the MFN issue became tied to the controversy over independence for Lithuania, which has been seeking to leave the Soviet Union. At June’s summit in Washington, Gorbachev tacitly promised that he would not push the MFN issue until the tensions over Lithuania had eased so Bush would not be forced to make a difficult choice. Those tensions now have eased, and a new push to eliminate trade barriers could be in the works.

ARMS CONTROL

*In November, the United States, the Soviet Union and virtually all the nations of Europe are scheduled to get together at a conference in Paris and sign a treaty limiting the size of European armies.

*Unfortunately, the treaty is far from being finished. Both Bush and Gorbachev would like to see the treaty signing come off as scheduled. Among other things, the conference is supposed to endorse the new status of a unified Germany, and the Soviets would like to see an international agreement in place that ratifies German promises to respect international boundaries and limit its own armed forces.

*To finish the treaty on time, Bush and Gorbachev plan to try to iron out remaining issues involving the number of military airplanes each side can have, particularly which planes to count and how to count them. Lower-level officials on both sides have been deadlocked on the issue, and it needs “a push from the two leaders,” says White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater.

CAMBODIA AND AFGHANISTAN

*Last month, the United States, the Soviets, China, Britain and France agreed on a peace proposal to end the 11-year civil war in Cambodia. The warring factions in that country have responded positively, but one faction--the Cambodian government headed by Hun Sen and backed by Vietnam--has hedged its acceptance.

*Because the Soviets are the main power backing Vietnam and Hun Sen, Bush hopes to convince Gorbachev to push the Cambodians harder.

*Afghanistan presents another stalemated civil war. For years, the Soviets have backed a communist regime in Kabul, while the United States has supported an anti-communist resistance movement in the mountains.

*For a while, U.S. officials hoped that the Kabul regime would simply collapse once the Soviets pulled their troops out of the country. But that has not happened.

*Now both superpowers would like to see a cease-fire, plus an agreement by all sides for elections that would be supervised by an interim government other than the current regime. But Najibullah, who heads the Kabul government, has been unwilling to step aside and let an interim government take over.

*Najibullah recently visited Moscow, and Bush would like to sound Gorbachev out on whether the Afghan leader showed any greater flexibility, aides say.