Interview With the President Excerpts From a Question-and-Answer Session With John Chancellor of NBC News.

AID TO PAKISTAN

MR. CHANCELLOR. Well, specifically, sir, I was wondering about aid, military .aid, to Pakistan.

THE PRESIDENT. Yes. This is a commitment that I am ready to make. We have already assured President Zia, who's the leader of Pakistan, directly with a telephone communication from me the day, very shortly after the invasion, and since then through emissaries, that we're willing to join other nations in giving necessary protection to Pakistan and meet their legitimate defensive military needs. This is not a threat to India, an adjacent country, but it's an ability for Pakistan to repel invasion if it should occur and particularly to let Pakistan be known as a strong nation able to protect themselves, so that a possible invasion will be prevented.

MR. CHANCELLOR. Have there been any specific communications within the last 48 hours on this between yourself and General Zia or the two governments involved?

THE PRESIDENT. Through diplomatic emissaries, yes; not directly between me and Zia.

MR. CHANCELLOR. Are you able to expand on that, Mr. President, about the amount of aid or how it would be delivered or what it would be?

THE PRESIDENT. No. There are three factors that have to be considered. One is the degree to which other nations will join in with us in providing economic and military aid; secondly, the amount of aid and the specific form of it that the Pakistanis would like to have; and thirdly, of course, I'll have to go to the Congress to get authorization to provide the American portion of the aid that's decided to be given to Pakistan.

MR. CHANCELLOR. Can you tell us what other countries might also be supplying aid to Pakistan?

THE PRESIDENT. I think it would be better to let them speak for themselves.

MR. CHANCELLOR. Would they be Western, industrialized countries?

THE PRESIDENT. Yes, mostly, and also some of the Mideast countries perhaps, who have the wealth and the ability to help to finance part of the aid.

MR. CHANCELLOR. So you're really putting together a package of aid for Pakistan.

THE PRESIDENT. Yes. Some people call it a consortium. I don't want to predict at this point what other nations might do, because the evolution of this so-called consortium is still in the embryonic stage, but we want to accommodate Pakistan's needs. And obviously, with our complete absence, some of the regional countries are obviously consulting with one another and will help themselves individually.

FOREIGN MILITARY FACILITIES

MR. CHANCELLOR. Somalia, Oman, and Kenya have offered us the use of naval and air facilities. Will the United States accept any of those offers?

THE PRESIDENT. Yes, we're considering the use of some of those facilities. We don't have any definite agreement yet, but that's the kind of thing that I think is important to our Nation to prepare for the long-range meeting of any threat to the peace in the Mideast-Persian Gulf-northern Indian Ocean area.

SOVIET UNION

MR. CHANCELLOR. Mr. President, as a journalist it sometimes seems to me as though the Soviet Union, which will become a net importer of petroleum during the 1980's, is really going for the Persian Gulf. They're trying to control that part of the world. Is that your view?

THE PRESIDENT. I think that's one of the factors that we believe is extant. No one can know what the Soviets' plans might be, but I think we've got to be prepared for that eventuality, and the best way to prepare for it is to prevent its occurrence. The arousing of world opinion to recognize the threat that the Soviets project to that area of the world is an important first step, particularly the marshaling of common condemnation of the Soviets for what they've already done. The strengthening of countries in the area that might be threatened, so that they can repel any potential invasion, is another very important element. And I think the third thing is to make sure that our own country realizes that we've got a longrange commitment to be made and that the responsibility and the sacrifice economically to prepare for it must be shared by all of us.

One of the important elements involved in the question you asked is the Soviets' need to produce more of their oil and gas. High technology is an element of that. And the punitive aspects of a partial trade embargo against the Soviet Union for those very valuable items is a cautionary message to the Soviet Union that I think they are perfectly able to read and must read.

SITUATION IN IRAN

MR. CHANCELLOR. Could I ask you about Iran, sir, and where we stand now in terms of the hostages?

THE PRESIDENT. We've always had a few basic principles to guide me since I've been involved in meeting this absolutely illegal and abhorrent act. One is to protect the long-range interests of our country; secondly, to protect the lives and the well-being of the hostages; third, to seek their release; fourth, to avoid bloodshed if possible, but still to protect our interests if necessary; and lastly, to make sure that a strong majority of the nations of the world understand that Iran is a criminal actor in this process and that we are the aggrieved party, and to keep world support for our position.

We've had four votes in the United Nations Security Council. We've not had a negative vote yet; we've only had four abstentions. When we took our case to the International Court of Justice, the vote was 15 to nothing in favor of our position.

And I think that Iran must realize-there are some responsible people in Iran—and the world must realize that Iran is at this moment involved in a criminal act, a terrorist act. And it's not a matter of negotiating on a diplomatic basis between two nations. This is a matter of condemning Iran for international terrorism and for kidnaping. And I think those purposes that I've described are and will be our basic principles until those hostages are home safe.

MR. CHANCELLOR. If some Americans are put on trial in "show trials," what would your reaction be to that?

THE PRESIDENT. I would rather not give specifics, but we are prepared to take action that would be quite serious in its consequences for Iran.

MR. CHANCELLOR. And I can't draw any further details on that out of you today, sir?

THE PRESIDENT. No, I don't think it would be good to go into details.