Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader whose image of openness has inspired cautious hope in the West, arrived Monday to sign the world`s first treaty to reduce nuclear arsenals and to seek agreement with President Reagan on more sweeping arms control.
Moments after his blue-and-white Aeroflot jet taxied to a halt in the twilight at Andrews Air Force Base, the Soviet Communist Party general secretary said he hoped for ”some new words” from Reagan that would speed negotiations over reducing long-range nuclear missiles.
Secretary of State George Shultz greeted Gorbachev warmly, saying:
”Welcome to the United States of America. We are delighted to have you here.”
Gorbachev and Reagan appeared eager for Tuesday`s signing of the treaty to ban intermediate-range missiles, but both leaders also immediately signaled their interest in more complex negotiations now underway in Geneva over long- range missiles.
In a rather lengthy arrival statement, Gorbachev said: ”At the center of our discussions . . . will be the pivotal questions of Soviet-American relations, questions of reducing strategic offensive arms.”
Reagan also referred to the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks when earlier in the day he told the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the armed services, ”I want a START agreement, but only if it`s a good one.” When asked about prospects for such a treaty, Reagan replied, ”You know me, I`m always optimistic.”
The President, who rescheduled the annual lighting of the national Christmas tree to coincide with Gorbachev`s arrival, sounded an even gentler note Monday night as he presided over the ceremony that lit the 35-foot Colorado spruce on the Ellipse outside the White House.
”Peace on Earth, good will toward men-I cannot think of a better spirit in which to begin the meetings of the next several days,” Reagan said with his wife, Nancy, beside him on the balcony of the White House. ”As a small reminder of that spirit, a star of peace atop the national Christmas tree will be lit day and night during the time our Soviet guests are here.”
That star was only one of the signs throughout Washington that a major event was unfolding. The red Soviet flag with its hammer and sickle flew alongside American colors on Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House. Across the street in Lafayette Park, a mosaic of protesters ranging from Afghans in traditional robes to Buddhist monks to ultraconservative Americans decried the summit and any pact between the U.S. and the USSR.
Several blocks away, however, a Soviet spokesman suggested Gorbachev would present fresh initiatives on arms control and other divisive issues when he opens three days of talks with Reagan on Tuesday.
In a joint press briefing before hundreds of the 6,000 journalists covering the meeting, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater and Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady Gerasimov took turns expressing optimism about the prospects for progress in the third summit meeting between the two leaders in two years.
Gerasimov indicated Gorbachev was bringing new proposals to reduce drastically both sides` long-range nuclear weapons and possibly a new offer on Soviet troop withdrawals from Afghanistan.
”I don`t want to pre-empt the dialogue, but you know he`s a man of surprises,” Gerasimov said shortly before Gorbachev arrived.
Gorbachev`s visit follows the disappointment of last year`s summit meeting in Iceland and raises hopes for a more significant summit next year in Moscow that is aimed at reducing long-range nuclear weapons.
The pageantry began when Gorbachev stepped down on a red carpet at the air base and spoke confidently into the microphone, ”I wish to assure all Americans that we sincerely want better relations between our countries and peoples.”
Then he stepped into a long Soviet ZiL limousine for a fast motorcade ride, under extraordinary security, to the Soviet Embassy in downtown Washington.
Following diplomatic protocol, Reagan will formally greet the Soviet leader in the Oval Office Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. (Chicago time). Three hours later, the two leaders will sign the treaty in the East Room of the White House. Shortly after 1 p.m. they will broadcast televised messages to the American and Soviet people.
Although some White House officials tried to lower expectations, there clearly was excitement among Congress and administration officials with the first American visit of a top Soviet leader since President Richard Nixon met Leonid Brezhnev here in June, 1973. The time before that was in September, 1959, when President Dwight Eisenhower was host to Nikita Khrushchev at Camp David, the presidential retreat in the Maryland hills outside Washington.
Gerasimov, the Soviet spokesman, said: ”We think this summit meeting is of crucial importance. And we think we can begin the road to nuclear disarmament, and continue on this road. So we are optimistic.”
Fitzwater, however, was wary of too much enthusiasm. ”The historical fact is that most summits have not produced agreements,” he said. ”It`s impossible to know how much progress can be made.”
The White House spokesman emphasized again that Reagan would press Gorbachev on such issues as human rights, the emigration of Soviet Jews, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and Moscow`s role in Third World regional conflicts.
”There are fundamental differences between our countries on a wide range of political issues,” Fitzwater said. ”Although the two leaders will sign a historic agreement to eliminate an entire class of nuclear weapons, a large part of this summit will focus on those other issues that define our relationship.”
The treaty documents arrived in Washington from the negotiators in Geneva about 1 1/2 hours after Gorbachev did. Negotiators from each side were initialing final parts of the treaty on board the airplane, according to State Department officials.
There are two English-language copies of the treaty and two in Russian, all printed with special nonfading ink on heavy bond paper used for such documents.
There was one hitch late Monday when the U.S. claimed that a photograph of a Soviet SS-20 missile cited in the treaty ”doesn`t look satisfactory.”
That statement was not explained, but a spokesman for Shultz said a new photograph was expected and it would not throw Tuesday`s signing off schedule. Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze met with Shultz for 50 minutes Monday night to discuss ”organizational aspects” of the summit, according to a State Department official, who added there was no hint of what, if any, initiatives Gorbachev might have in mind.
Clearly, however, the main emphasis of this summit will be the possibility of a treaty on long-range nuclear weapons. Gerasimov indicated Reagan would be welcome in Moscow if the Washington meeting produces enough progress in the negotiations on reducing the weapons that can be targeted across continents.
”We prepare ground for the American President to come to Moscow next year and to sign the second treaty of strategic arms,” he said.
Senior White House officials said they publicized the meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to help Reagan fend off angry conservative critics whose mistrust of the Soviets has prompted them to accuse Reagan of being soft on communism and undermining America`s national defense.
White House aides said the meeting was also intended to forestall the broader criticism that dogged Reagan after his summit last year with Gorbachev in Reykjavik, Iceland, when the President almost agreed to a sweeping accord to eliminate all nuclear weapons without consulting the U.S. military command.
