Gorbachev congratulates Bush

MOSCOW, Nov. 9, 1988 (UPI) - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev Wednesday congratulated George Bush on his election to the White House and said he hoped the president-elect will seek more ''stable and predictable'' U.S.-Soviet relations.

In a message carried by the official Tass news agency and Soviet television, Gorbachev said his country is prepared to do its part for better relations, which he said would benefit both nations and the ''whole international community.''

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Vadim Perfilyev welcomed Bush's election and said he was ''absolutely confident'' a Bush-Gorbachev summit will be arranged after his inauguration in January.

Perfilyev said the Kremlin intends to cooperate with Bush and to continue the dialogue established in four summits between Gorbachev and President Reagan.

''We will cooperate with the new administration and we are going to develop our relations with the people entrusted to be at the helm,'' he told a news conference. ''I believe it augurs well that the dialogue between our two countries will deepen and develop, which will benefit international cooperation and security.''

Perfilyev expressed certainty that Gorbachev and Bush will meet in the near future.

''As to the next summit, I would say that such summits became normal phenomena in our relations,'' he said. ''All told there were four summits with President Reagan, and I can be absolutely confident that such summits (with Bush) will follow after Jan. 20.''

Official Radio Moscow said in a brief commentary that Bush's victory can be traced to his post as vice president and it reported that Bush had pledged to continue Reagan's policies.

''Moscow welcomes the continuity of the administration,'' the state-run radio station said. ''Realism shown by Reagan's team in recent years and the new approach of the Soviet leadership to the solution of complicated problems have eased confrontation and permitted the process of real disarmament to begin.''

The radio station added, ''There is hope that in the future the United States and the Soviet Union together with other nations will seek to diffuse tensions and continue the process of disarmament.''

Tass said Bush's most difficult task will be matching Reagan's achievements.

''Another serious problem facing the new occupant of the White House is that he will be compared with its predecessor, whose presidency, despite problems and political scandals including the Iran-contra affair, is widely believed to have been one of the most successful in the past 15 to 20 years,'' Tass said.

The full text of Gorbachev's telegram read:

''Dear Mr. Bush: Accept my congratulations on your election as president of the United States of America.

''I would like to express the hope that your efforts in this high post will serve the cause of further development of stable and predictable relations between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. and a healthier international situation.

''For its part, the Soviet Union is prepared to continue and deepen mutually beneficial Soviet-American cooperation in the widest possible range of issues.

''Expansion of the constructive interaction between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. would answer the interests both of our peoples and of the whole international community.''