Rejected US-Soviet pact has promise, Rostow says

Eugene Rostow, former chief arms negotiator, still believes an informal agreement on medium-ranged missiles in Europe reached by Soviet and US negotiators in July could prove useful, the New York Times reported.

The Times said the former director of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency said that the agreement was ''a promising approach and well worth further study.'' It called on the Soviet Union to reduce the number of its medium-range missiles in Europe to between 50 and 100. The plan, devised to break the deadlock in the talks last summer, would have permitted the deployment of some US Pershing II and cruise missiles on the continent, but not as many as are planned for now.

Mr. Rostow reportedly said the plan, rejected by both Moscow and Washington, would have accomplished basic American goals.