Soviets Deny Easing Stand on ‘Star Wars’

MOSCOW — The Communist Party daily Pravda, accusing the Reagan Administration of “another sleazy strategem of Washington propaganda,” denied Friday U.S. reports that Moscow had softened its opposition to U.S. research into anti-missile defenses in space, the key issue blocking progress at the Geneva arms talks.

U.S. newspapers reported on Tuesday that Soviet negotiators had hinted they would be willing to accept an arms treaty that allowed research, but not testing. They quoted high-ranking Reagan Administration sources.

The newspaper, in an unsigned editorial, restated Soviet aims at the talks as “a total ban on development, including scientific research, testing and deployment of strike space weapons.”