Summit to Come After Elections, Official Says
WASHINGTON — A U.S.-Soviet summit that President Reagan had hoped would take place this summer will not be held until after congressional elections in November, a U.S. official said today.
The statement, by Assistant Secretary of State Rozanne L. Ridgway, was the firmest public acknowledgment so far by the Administration that Reagan’s second meeting with Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev will come later than he had hoped.
She also said that the Administration is awaiting a response from Moscow “any day†with a date to reschedule a canceled preparatory meeting between Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard A. Shevardnadze.
In Protest of Libya Raid
Moscow said it canceled the foreign ministers’ meeting to protest Washington’s April 15 raid on Libya.
Ridgway, testifying before the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Europe and the Middle East, was asked by panel chairman Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.): “Are you folks now thinking about after our elections for the summit?â€
“As a practical matter that’s what we’re looking at,†she replied.
The Reagan Administration had said previously that it was still optimistic that the summit could take place this summer, although it said a date after the mid-term congressional elections in November would be acceptable.
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