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Clinton Pacifies Russian Parliament on Democracy, Missile Defense
U.S. President Bill Clinton on Monday placated Russian politicians with praises of the nation's advance to "democracy and the free market," dismissing the differences between the two countries on missile defense as a "technical" problem to be eventually resolved.
The development of Russia will determine the international situation in the 21st century to a large extent, and the characteristics of the new century will very much depend on the success of the people of Russia in building a modern democracy and freedom, Clinton said in his first speech at Russia's State Duma, the lower house of the parliament.
He stressed that the future of Russia is in its own hands and cannot depend on others.
"The Russian people do not have to be told how to assess how freedom outweighs the deprivations caused by economic difficulties, corruption and criminality," Clinton said, noting that Russians had not attained the country promised in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed.
Nonetheless, Russian nationals have a real chance to "build a modern, strong, democratic state that is part of the life of the rest of the world" and the modern world sees a different Russia, not the Russia of 1991, said Clinton.
In the first speech by a major Western leader to the State Duma, Clinton said Russia's economy was growing and the vast country was beginning to produce the goods and services people wanted.
He said differences between the two countries on missile defense were "mainly technical and could eventually be resolved."
He and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed at a summit on Sunday that there was an emerging threat from the so-called rogue states, but did not agree on how to tackle it.
"I learned on my trip to Russia the issue is not whether we intend to do something that will undermine mutual deterrence, ... the real question is a debate over what the impact of this will be, because of the capacity of the technology involved," he said. "I believe that we ought to be able to reach an agreement about how we should proceed at each step along the way here in a way that preserves mutual deterrence, preserves strategic stability and preserves the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty. That is my goal," he told Russian deputies.
The United States wants to amend the 1972 anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty to deploy a national anti-missile defense shield to intercept incoming rogue rockets. But Moscow would rather place defenses close to risky states to shoot down missiles as they are launched.
The U.S. president said the United States would support Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization. "But you must know the decision to join the WTO requires difficult choices that only you can make," he noted.
Russia, which applied in 1993 to enter the WTO, recently said it was ready to intensify efforts to join the trade bloc.
Members of the Russian Federation Council, the upper chamber, were also present in the Duma to hear Clinton's speech, one of his last engagements before he heads for Ukraine on his way back to Washington after a week-long European tour.
After addressing the Duma on Monday morning, Clinton called on former Russian President Boris Yeltsin on Monday and they discussed Russia-U.S. ties, global security and strategic stability during "a meeting of old friends," said chief of Yeltsin's protocol department Vladimir Shevchenko.
The meeting at Yeltsin's Gorki-9 residence in Moscow lasted for about 40 minutes. Yeltsin and Clinton discussed international issues,among them the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty signed in 1972.They assured that the missile defense consultations would go on, said Shevchenko.
Yeltsin and Clinton reviewed the efforts made by them since 1992 to accelerate the developments of the relations between the two countries, stressing that the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty-II(START II) they initiated and concluded "cleared the way for the two states'new leaders to pursue fruitful work to this end."
"Yeltsin and Clinton spent most of the time not talking politics but recalling the past days, drinking tea and eating traditional nut cakes and a honey pie baked by Naina Iosifovna (Boris Yeltsin's wife)," he said.
Clinton told Boris Yeltsin that he was content with the negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Yeltsin's choice of his successor, Shevchenko remarked.
Yeltsin thanked Clinton for his words and stressed that their opinions about Putin coincided.
Earlier, Clinton held talks with Putin and made a speech to the Russian parliamentary.
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