WASHINGTON, Oct. 6: Reuter: The White House said today that it was surprised to learn Raisa Gorbachev would be accompanying Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to Iceland for this weekend’s mini summit with President Reagan. ‘Spokesman Larry Speakers said last week Nancy Reagan would not be going but today refused to say if that was still the case we were surprised that Mrs. Gorbachev was coming. Our understanding was that it was 10 be brief, a limited number of people: Ii was to be a straight forward business meeting with very little social activity connected to it”, he told reporters.
‘Asked how the United States learned of Mrs. Gorbachev’s plans, he replied, “Icelandic TV”.
The leaders’ wives held a busy round of social engagements in Geneva last November as Reagan and Gorbachev held their first summit.
Speakers declined to say that ‘Mrs. Gorgachev’s presence in Reykjavik meant the Soviet Union had a less serious attitude towards he two days of meetings.
Asked if it were not true that women, as well as men, were interested in the summit, speaks replied, “Yes, of course.
Prior to the Geneva meeting last year, White House Chief of staff Donald Reagan said women were more interested in the social aspects of the summit than in the ‘weighty issues of arms control.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 10, 1986
