GORBACHEV SAYS U.S. POLICY GROWS MORE 'BELLICOSE'

Abstract

At a rally of war veterans marking the 40th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, Mikhail S. Gorbachev denounced the United States today as the ''forward edge of the war menace to mankind'' and affirmed his fidelity to the ''priceless'' experience of detente.

The Soviet Government's press agency, Tass, denounced Mr. [Reagan]'s speech for failure to mention the Soviet role in World War II and for what a Tass dispatch called ''pseudo-peacemaking 'initiatives.' ''

Mr. Gorbachev addressed a congratulatory message to Mr. Reagan on the anniversary, saying that the lesson of the war required all states and leaders to take a ''responsible approach to preserving peace.'' Mr. Reagan had sent a message calling for the anniversary to become a ''rededication to the task of overcoming the differences between us.''

At a rally of war veterans marking the 40th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, Mikhail S. Gorbachev denounced the United States today as the ''forward edge of the war menace to mankind'' and affirmed his fidelity to the ''priceless'' experience of detente.

In a speech that was part of intensive commemorations, the Soviet leader seemed to seek a balance between the assertive patriotism demanded by the occasion and an appeal for renewed cooperation with the United States.

''The policy of the United States is growing more bellicose in character and has become a constant negative factor in international relations,'' he told an audience dominated by silver-haired veterans, their chests ablaze in ribbons, medals and stars.

Reagan's Policies Assailed

He avoided mentioning President Reagan by name, but listed Soviet accusations against his policies, including the effort to develop a space-based defense system, hostility toward the Sandinista Government in Nicaragua and support for the anti-Communist insurgents in Afghanistan.

Mr. Gorbachev was also critical of Mr. Reagan's visit to the German military cemetery in Bitburg, where 49 soldiers of the Waffen SS are among the 2,000 dead.

Among the Western leaders meeting in Bonn, Mr. Gorbachev said, ''there were political figures ready to forget or even justify the SS cutthroats and, moreover, pay honor to them.''

Tribute to World War II

But the Soviet leader also paid tribute to the ''military valor'' of Allied soldiers in World War II and hailed the ''spirit of cooperation'' that found expression in postwar conferences and in the founding of the United Nations.

Then he turned to detente, declaring a conviction that ''a world without wars and weapons is attainable in practice.''

''The course of events can be changed sharply if tangible success is achieved at the Soviet-American talks on space and nuclear arms,'' he said, referring to the Geneva negotiations.

''Such is our conviction. We firmly believe that the process of detente should be revived. This does not mean, however, a simple return to what was achieved in the 70's. It is necessary to strive for something much greater.

''From our point of view, detente is not the ultimate aim of policy. It is needed, but only as a transitional stage from a world cluttered with arms, to a reliable and all-embracing system of international security.''

Diplomats said this was Mr. Gorbachev's most elaborate exposition of his interest in a revival of detente, which is one of the basic themes of his administration.

''The Soviet Union is prepared to follow this path,'' he said. ''Today, on the day of the anniversary memorable to all of us, I should like to repeat once more: The Soviet Union resolutely comes out for a world without wars, for a world without weapons. We state again and again that the outcome of the historical competition between the two systems cannot be solved by military means.''

Counterpart to Reagan Speech

The speech seemed in many ways a counterpart to Mr. Reagan's address in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, where the President combined warnings against showing weakness in the face of Soviet military might with calls for greater stability in superpower relations.

The Soviet Government's press agency, Tass, denounced Mr. Reagan's speech for failure to mention the Soviet role in World War II and for what a Tass dispatch called ''pseudo-peacemaking 'initiatives.' ''

Mr. Gorbachev addressed a congratulatory message to Mr. Reagan on the anniversary, saying that the lesson of the war required all states and leaders to take a ''responsible approach to preserving peace.'' Mr. Reagan had sent a message calling for the anniversary to become a ''rededication to the task of overcoming the differences between us.''

Hartman's Ambivalent Program

The mixture of recriminations and calls for reconciliation also seemed to affect the activities of the United States Ambassador, Arthur A. Hartman.

He declined to attend the Kremlin rally at which Mr. Gorbachev spoke, and plans to stay away from the parade on Thursday. The Soviet Union marks the anniversary one day after the West because the official surrender of the German forces to the Red Army in 1945 occurred one day after the surrender to the Western forces at Rheims.

However, Mr. Hartman is scheduled to fly to Murmansk on Monday to join in commemorating the defense of the Arctic port through which the Western Allies sent supply ships to the Soviet Union by running a gantlet of German submarines in the Barents Sea.

The American envoy today placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexander Garden outside the Kremlin and plans to attend an official Kremlin reception on Thursday.

The ambivalence struck by the anniversary celebrations was also evident in the prolonged applause that Mr. Gorbachev drew by naming Stalin near the opening of his speech.

Stalin Credited for War Effort

Although discredited for his reign of terror, Stalin is still regarded as the man who led the Soviet Union through the war, and Mr. Gorbachev paid tribute to him by saying that the war effort had been guided by the party and the State Defense Committee ''headed by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin.''

The audience in the Kremlin's Palace of Congresses broke into applause, which continued as Mr. Gorbachev was trying to resume.

If the applause for Stalin seemed to reflect a nostalgia for a time when the Government and the people were united in a common feat, then Mr. Gorbachev also drew applause when he expounded the dominant theme of his administration, the need to instill new vigor in the economy.

Lenin Quoted on Real Deeds

''Let there be fewer words, assurances and promises, and more real deeds, practical results, responsibility, principledness, harmony in work, care for the people and personal modesty,'' he quoted Lenin as having said, drawing prolonged applause.

The reaction reflected the support Mr. Gorbachev has found for his campaign against stagnation.

In mentioning his own program on the war anniversary, Mr. Gorbachev, who was 14 when the war ended, seemed to be trying to tie his campaign for economic revival to an event that has assumed primacy of place among Soviet memories.

The struggle against the German forces is viewed as an act of national sacrifice and deliverance that forged a brief bond between a people and a government rent by Stalin's collectivization, purges and terror.