DATE=12/20/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=YEARENDER: U-S RUSSIA (CQ)
NUMBER=5-45068
BYLINE=DEBORAH TATE
DATELINE=WHITE HOUSE
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Disagreements over NATO's bombing campaign in
Yugoslavia -- and Russia's military offensive in
Chechnya -- chilled relations between Washington and
Moscow in 1999 to the lowest levels since the Cold
War. Despite the disagreements, U-S policy toward
Russia has not changed. Correspondent Deborah Tate
looks back on a year of strained relations.
Text: As 1999 began, the Clinton administration
became increasingly concerned by what it described as
a sustained campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Serbs
against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, and it mobilized
international support for intervention to stop the
Serb actions.
But Russia vehemently opposed using military action
against its traditional Serb allies.
Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, en route to
Washington in March, was so incensed when Vice
President Al Gore alerted him that NATO bombing raids
over Yugoslavia could begin during his visit to the
United States, that he ordered his plane to make a U-
turn back to Moscow. Shortly thereafter, NATO's
bombing campaign began.
The move would anger Russia for the remainder of the
year, even though it played a key role in finding a
diplomatic solution to the matter. In June, a deal
was reached that paved the way for U-N peacekeepers -
including Russians - to enter Kosovo as Serb troops
pulled out.
President Clinton was quick to hail the terms of the
agreement.
/// FIRST CLINTON ACTUALITY ///
They provide for unity of command, they provide
for a significant range of responsibilities for
the Russians, which I think are entirely
appropriate, and will enhance the mission's
effectiveness.
/// END ACT ///
But U-S-Russian ties remained strained - and Moscow's
decision to rush its troops in to Pristina before the
other international peacekeepers reached Kosovo did
not help.
There were other concerns. A banking and corruption
scandal linked to top Kremlin officials worried
Washington. Plans by the United States to amend the
Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty infuriated Moscow.
A more serious disagreement surfaced as the year drew
to a close on the issue of Russia's military campaign
in Chechnya.
Moscow defended the operation as necessary to root out
Islamic insurgents intent on destabilizing the region.
But with civilian casualties mounting, Mr. Clinton
argued that Russia's tactics would not succeed - a
point he underscored at a summit of the Organization
of Security and Cooperation in Europe in Istanbul in
November.
/// SECOND CLINTON ACTUALITY ///
I would never criticize anyone taking vigorous
action against terrorism. That is very
important. The real question is whether or not
the nature of this uprising in Chechnya can be
solved exclusively by military strategy. You
can sense in this audience that it is not just
the United States, it is virtually all the
Europeans do not believe an exclusively military
strategy can prevail; (they think) that it will
lead to greater than necessary civilian
casualties and greater than necessary refugees.
/// END ACT ///
Russian President Boris Yeltsin denounced the
international criticism as meddling in Russia's
internal affairs. He told the West not to lecture
Moscow about civilian casualties in Chechnya after
NATO's bombs killed civilians in Yugoslavia.
Speaking through a translator, Mr. Yeltsin also
addressed the matter at the O-S-C-E meeting in
Istanbul.
/// YELTSIN ACTUALITY ///
We all know what disproportionate consequences
such interference can cause, suffice it to
recall the aggression of NATO headed by the
United States that was mounted against
Yugoslavia. Now, on the threshold of a new
era, it is more urgent than ever before that our
principal commandment for our joint efforts in
Europe should be `do no harm'.
/// END ACT ///
But Mr. Clinton warned later that the Russian
offensive would take its toll on Moscow through a loss
of international prestige and by alienating investors.
/// THIRD CLINTON ACTUALITY ///
Russia will pay a heavy price for its actions.
With each passing day, sinking more deeply into
a morass that will intensify extremism and
diminish its own standing in the world.
/// END ACT ///
Despite European pressure, Mr. Clinton has opposed
cutting off U-S aid to Russia, saying it is not in
Washington's interest. He notes that such assistance
is supporting Russian efforts to dismantle its nuclear
arsenal and carry out democratic reform - efforts the
United States does not want to see jeopardized.
For the time being, U-S policy toward Russia remains
on course - with U-S officials hoping that engagement
with Moscow will keep its economic and democratic
transformation on track, and that international
pressure will lead Russian officials to seek a
diplomatic solution to the situation in Chechnya.
(Signed)
NEB/DAT/TVM/gm
20-Dec-1999 18:51 PM EDT (20-Dec-1999 2351 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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