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)
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Source: Voice of America
.