DATE=1/6/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=BERGER-RUSSIA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-257852
BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST
DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: President Clinton's National Security Adviser,
Sandy Berger, has again condemned Russia's conduct of
the war in Chechnya, but he is resisting calls - from
U-S Presidential contenders, among others - for
punitive action against Moscow. V-O-A's David Gollust
reports from the White House.
TEXT: Chechnya has become one of the first foreign
policy issues in the American presidential campaign,
with both Republican John McCain and Democrat Bill
Bradley urging aid penalties against Moscow. But in a
policy address to Washington's National Press Club,
Mr. Berger advised caution, suggesting that U-S
sanctions might impede the reform process in Russia
the administration has sought to encourage:
/// Berger Act ///
Russia's struggle against terrorism is
appropriate, but its use of indiscriminate force
is wrong. And it is inviting far more serious
problems for itself than it can possibly be
solving. But we should not stop supporting
those forces in Russia that are trying to
strengthen the rule of law and build faith in
democratic institutions. Russia is paying a
price for its conduct in Chechnya. Russian
democracy must not.
/// End Act ///
White House officials say two-thirds of all U-S aid to
Russia is intended either to support democratic
institutions or to help dispose of Soviet-era nuclear
stockpiles.
Mr. Berger also advised against hasty judgements about
Russia's new acting president, Vladimir Putin, whom he
noted was both an official of the former Soviet K-G-B
(intelligence service), but also a reformist deputy
mayor in St. Petersburg after the Soviet Union's
collapse.
Though some U-S analysts see former President Boris 's
resignation and hand-over of power to his protege, Mr.
Putin, last week as an effort to short-circuit the
electoral process, Mr. Berger framed it as the first
voluntary transfer of power - under constitutional
rules - in modern Russian history.
He said Mr. Putin will be under great scrutiny between
now and the Russian election in March as he seeks to
be both a head of state and a presidential candidate:
/// Berger Act ///
If he does that, if Russia passes power from its
first democratically-elected president to its
second democratically-elected president, I think
that will be a good thing. (Former South
African President) Nelson Mandela has said that
the most important election for a new democracy
is not the first, but the second, and so I think
we'll have to watch very carefully over the next
three months.
/// End Act ///
Mr. Berger said Mr. Putin enjoys strong support among
both the Russian public and the newly elected
parliament. While saying there are no guarantees, he
suggested Mr. Putin's strength might permit new
progress on strategic arms reductions and a solution
to the U-S-Russian dispute over the Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty.
The Clinton administration wants amendments to the
1972 accord to permit a limited U-S missile defense
system, while Moscow - at least under Mr. - has
opposed any change. (Signed)
NEB/DAG/JP
06-Jan-2000 16:45 PM EDT (06-Jan-2000 2145 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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