18 November 1999
Chechnya Dominates Opening Session of OSCE Summit
(Nov. 18: Clinton, Yeltsin differ on how to resolve problem) (990) By Wendy S. Ross Washington File White House Correspondent Istanbul -- Russia's military campaign in Chechnya, which has killed a growing number of civilians and caused a massive refugee flow out of the area, dominated the opening session of the summit here of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). President Clinton and others at the November 18 opening session urged a political solution to the problem, while Russian President Boris Yeltsin said there will be no negotiation with "terrorists and bandits." Russia "needs a respectful dialogue" on Chechnya, "not mutual reproaches or sermonizing," Yeltsin told the gathering of leaders from more than 50 countries. "You have no right to criticize Russia for Chechnya," he said, calling Russia's military actions there "the result of the bloody wave of terrorist acts that have swept over Moscow and other cities and towns" of Russia. "We simply are obliged to put to an end the spread of the cancer of terrorism, to prevent it from metastasizing far beyond the North Caucasus and even spreading beyond the borders of the Russian Federation," he said. Clinton in his remarks stressed that "most of the critics of Russian policies deplore Chechen violence and terrorism and extremism, and support the objectives of Russia -- to preserve its territorial integrity, and to put down the violence and the terrorism. What they fear is that the means Russia has chosen will undermine its ends -- that if attacks on civilians continue, the extremism Russia is trying to combat will only intensify...." "Russia's friends are united, I believe, in what we think should happen: appropriate measures to end terrorism, protection of innocent civilians, a commitment to allow refugees to return in safety, access for relief groups, and a common effort to rebuild," Clinton said. "In order to isolate and undermine the terrorists, there must be a political dialogue and a political settlement -- not with terrorists, but with those who are willing to seek a peaceful resolution." "The OSCE and others can play a role in facilitating that dialogue, as they did once before," Clinton said, referring to the OSCE Assistance Group effort that succeeded in 1995 in bringing the parties to the conflict in Chechnya to the negotiating table. "That is the role the OSCE was meant to play." Meanwhile, he said, "we should all make it clear that we are prepared to do more -- through the United Nations, through this organization, and through any other available forum -- to combat terror wherever it exists." United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, in his remarks to the opening session of the OSCE Summit, called Russia's actions in Chechnya immoral and contradictory to UN law. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that "Germany condemns terrorism wherever it manifests itself, but war is no way to eliminate terrorism." Schroeder said Russia's "massive use of force which hits the civilian population before all else must be ended." He appealed to the Russian leadership to resolve the conflict by political means. "Respect the rules and principles of the OSCE that we have jointly accepted," he said. "Do not undermine the credibility of these principles and hence that of the organization as a whole. They are an indispensable basis for lasting peace in Europe." Schroeder said, "The humanitarian efforts too and the care of the refugees must also be strengthened, the possibilities of the OSCE support group should be made use of based on the existing mandate." Romano Prodi, former Italian Prime Minister and now President of the European Commission, urged Russia to "stop the military campaign" in Chechnya. Later in the morning, President Clinton held a private 45-minute meeting with Yeltsin. Describing that meeting, Clinton told reporters that Yeltsin "was very vigorous and so was I. We've met together many times, we have a very good personal chemistry, but it didn't stop us from our clear disagreement here....he stated his position and I stated mine." Clinton said he would "never criticize anyone taking vigorous action against terrorism." But the real question is whether or not the nature of this uprising in Chechnya can be solved exclusively by military strategy. "And I think you can sense in this audience, it's not just the United States, it's virtually all the Europeans -- (they) don't believe that an exclusively military strategy can prevail. It will lead to greater than necessary civilian casualties, and greater than necessary refugees." Clinton also said he took "very strong exception" to the general Russian view that no one should interfere with any internal affair of any other nation. He said that is why he responded very vigorously to Yeltsin's remarks to the Summit criticizing American-led NATO policy in the Balkans. "There are times in the world we live in today when we are forced to make judgments about things that happen within the borders of other countries because they have an impact beyond their borders and because they violate internationally accepted norms of human rights," Clinton said. "That's what happened in Bosnia, that's what happened in Kosovo. I think I did the right thing." Clinton said he urged Russia "to try to listen" to its friends at the OSCE Summit "and try to find a way to work together and move this thing forward." He said he hoped his remarks "registered on the Russians and I hope we are going to make some progress" on Chechnya. "I think we are," he said. The OSCE Summit is taking place in the Ciragan Palace and Hotel in Istanbul, a former Sultan's residence located on the European shore of the Bosphorus -- the Strait dividing Europe and Asia that links the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State)
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