Democrats Agree to Peace Plan, Call for ‘Good Faith’ : Diplomatic Initiative in Nicaragua

WASHINGTON —  President Reagan today announced “a general agreement” with Congress to pursue a diplomatic peace initiative that gives Nicaragua until Sept. 30 to move toward democracy before more U.S. aid is sought for the contra guerrillas.

But key Democratic leaders in Congress said that while they support a “good faith” diplomatic effort to bring peace to Central America, they have made no commitments to support military aid to the contras if the effort fails.

Secretary of State George P. Shultz, who accompanied Reagan to the White House briefing room to make the announcement, said there is no assurance that Nicaragua will accept the U.S. terms. Moreover, opposition contra leaders said they welcomed the plan but are not willing yet to say they accept it entirely, indicating that they have some reservations.

Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) said Reagan intends to press ahead with the contra aid if the peace effort fails. And if the diplomatic effort fails in the face of Sandinista intransigence “it would strengthen (Reagan’s) position,” the senator said.

“There’s no way that a cease-fire can be agreed upon by people who are not directly involved in the conflict,” said Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, a contra leader who followed Reagan and Shultz into the briefing room. The ruling Sandinistas have steadfastly rejected including the contras in any negotiations, and the Administration plan does not specify whether the contras would be directly included.

Shultz said the Administration’s proposal is “not just a ploy, it’s a genuine effort.”

At the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who attended the morning briefing of Reagan and congressional leaders, said Democrats “support the effort but not the document.”

He said he and others object to the Sept. 30 deadline for peace talks to be completed, which he noted is also the date that military aid to the contras ends. He called that deadline arbitrary and “unrealistic.”

Central American Summit

Moreover, Byrd said, there is general agreement among Democrats that there should be “no quid pro quo . . . between the plan and contra aid.” Reagan said the U.S. offer will be presented to a summit of Central American nations--including Nicaragua--meeting in Guatemala.

The plan was announced by Reagan and Shultz after an hourlong meeting of the President and congressional leaders, including House Speaker Jim Wright of Texas, who was the key architect of the plan.

Wright (D-Tex.), leaving the White House, acknowledged that there is some skepticism on Capitol Hill about whether Reagan is sincere in proposing a peace plan, or whether it merely is the wrapping for a new plan to finance the contras after the expiration of the current plan Sept. 30.

“There is some feeling--and has been from the beginning--that the Administration would not be sincere in efforts to promote peace and would simply go through the motions and hope and expect to achieve failure, thereby gaining an excuse by which to give further aid to the contras. I have received assurances that that is not the case,” Wright said.

The Administration plan calls for an immediate, verifiable cease-fire, followed by an immediate suspension of the flow of U.S. arms to the contras and Soviet Bloc military assistance to the Sandinista government in Managua.

The Nicaraguan government would be given 60 days to restore civil liberties, form an electoral commission and establish a timetable and procedures for free elections.

Negotiations would be convened among the governments of the region and the United States on the withdrawal of most foreign military advisers, reductions in standing armies and security guarantees.