Can’t Rush Changes, Soviet Official Says

A high-ranking Soviet diplomat told an audience in Claremont Thursday night that the political situation in his country is “like sitting between two chairs,” with one system dismantled and another yet to take its place.

“It’s very uncomfortable,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir F. Petrovsky. “Everybody is looking for early practical results. But we should not rush.”

To an audience of 300 at Pomona College, he said those ruling the Soviet Union worry that the nation could be torn apart between the demands for immediate change and resistance to change.

Petrovsky, 57, has been deputy foreign minister since 1986 with special responsibility for the Middle East and international organizations, among other things. He is a frequent visitor to the United Nations where he has served as the point man for Soviet proposals for multilateral disarmament.

As Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev wrestles with rebuilding his country’s political institutions and economy, Petrovsky said, the Soviet leader was drawing inspiration from American history, particularly from the “political courage” of Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

“His idea is to steadily go farther and farther, but not to rock the boat,” Petrovsky said. He also said the Soviet Union is committed to a course of “ballots--not bullets.”

Though optimistic about international cooperation, he said the Middle East is “the only area outside of the negotiating process” because of Iraqi aggression. He also said the United Nations must “be prepared, if necessary, for suppression of aggression.”