REAGAN WEIGHS MAJOR SPEECH ON SOVIETS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88B00443R000100330029-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 4, 2007
• Sequence Number: 29
• Publication Date: January 7, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2010/03/26: CIA-RDP88B00443R000100330029-6
ATURDAY,, JANUARY 7, 1984
Reagan Weighs Major Speech on Soviet
By FRANCIS X. CLINES
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 - President
Reagan, sensing the Soviet Union is in
a period of "introspection," is consid-
ering a major speech to invite an im-
provement in East-West relations, Ad-
ministration officials said today.
The President alluded to the need for
"a productive East-West dialogue" in a
brief statement this morning on the
mission of James E. Goodby, the chief
United States delegate to a conference
on confidence and security opening
Jan. 18 in Stockholm among ministers
of North Atlantic Treaty Organization
and the Warsaw Pact.
Secretary of State George P. Shultz
and Foreign Minister Andrei A.
Gromyko of the Soviet Union have
agreed to meet at the conference to re-
sume talks that were broken off after
the Soviet Union shot down a South Ko-
rean airliner in September, with the
loss of 269 lives.
White House officials said the Presi-
dent was considering making "a com-
prehensive statement" of his views on
the Soviet Union, timed either for the
meeting between Mr. Shultz and Mr.
Gromyko or possibly as the key foreign
policy section of his State of Union ad-
dress on Jan. 25.
Moderation Emphasized
Such a statement, issued as the
President prepared for his expected re-
election bid, would presumably be
moderate in tone. The President has
emphasized moderation in recent in-
terviews, dropping his earlier criticism
of the Soviet Union as a "focus of evil,"
and has called on Moscow to "join the
family of nations."
"The President is ready to deal with
them," an Administration official said,
noting that Mr. Reagan felt his defense
buildup plans were now well along to
being carried out. "The question is
whether they're 'capable of dealing
with him."
The official said Mr. Reagan sensed
an opportunity to speak out during
what he considers a mood of "intro-
spection" in Moscow attributable to
several factors besides the illness of
the Soviet leader, Yuri V. Andropov.
"They failed to achieve a lot of their
goals last year," the White House offi-
cial said, referring to what he called
"heavy handed" Soviet attempts to
split the NATO alliance over the de-
ployment of new United States nuclear
missiles in Europe. "Also, the Soviet
economy is not working well. It's not
the model for the third world that
they'd like."
President Reagan met for 15 minutes
with Mr. Goodby in advance of the 35-
nation Stockholm meeting, which is to
focus on ways of reducing the risk of
nonnuclear attack between the East
and West in Europe.
"I reviewed with Ambassador
Goodby the instructions to the U.S.
delegation and gave my final approv-
al," the President said in a printed
statement.
Mr. Goodby later said that his in-
structions "require that the United
States delegation search for agree-
ments on concrete, practical measures
to reduce the risk of war in Europe
arising from surprise attack or miscal-
culation."
The conference agenda includes
ways of improving communication be-
tween Eastern and Western military
commanders, including advance notice
of military training maneuvers and ob-
servation of each other's exercises.
The Stockholm meeting, formally ti-
tled the Conference on Confidence and
Security Building Measures and Disar-
mament in Europe, is not directly con-
nected with the nuclear and conven-
tional arms control talks that are cur-
rently suspended. One of Mr. Shultz's
priorities is expected to be the question
of when these talks might be resumed.
No Timetable for Agreement
Mr. Goodby said the Stockholm
meeting was "not a substitute" for the
arms control talks but could serve as
an "important channel" in improving
relations between between East and
West.
He said the conference, an outgrowth
of the 1975 meeting that produced the
Helsinki East-West accords, had no
timetable for an agreement. "We think
we can make a lot of progress over the
next several months," he added.
If the President chooses to make a
speech on Soviet policy, it would be
done apart from an Administration re-
port to Congress expected soon assess-
ing how well the Russians have ad-
hered to existing agreements.
`Some officials who expect this report
to contain detailed criticism of the
Soviets, feel that the President's ad-
dress, if it takes place, would take a
larger perspective.
"A lot of people in the Administration
believe now is the time for the Presi-,
dent to make a comprehensive state
ment of his Soviet views," one White,
House official said, asserting that these
were far more complicated in sub=
stance and far less aggressive in tone ;
than his critics contend.
Approved For Release 2010/03/26: CIA-RDP88B00443R000100330029-6