Clinton Renews Offer for Russian Sub RescueUS President Bill Clinton Wednesday renewed the U.S. offer for the rescue of 116 sailors of a Russian submarine sunken at the bottom of the Barents Sea, the White House said.White House National Security Council spokesman David Stockwell said Clinton made a 25-minute telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "They discussed a number of areas. President Clinton expressed concern over the situation involving the Russian submarine and renewed his offer to help," Stockwell said. Clinton made the call to return the one Putin made last week in which the Russian president wanted to give Clinton an update on the talks he had with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat about the Middle East peace process. The two leaders discussed their upcoming meeting in New York when they attend the U.N. Millennium Summit on September 6-8. Stockwell said Clinton and Putin also talked about the welfare of Edmund Pope, an American who has been imprisoned in Russia since April 3 in Moscow on espionage charges. |
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