THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release June 15, 1992
PRESS BRIEFING
BY
SECRETARY OF STATE JAMES BAKER
The Briefing Room
12:20 P.M. EDT
SECRETARY BAKER: Ladies and gentlemen, we have a notice
to the press that -- I don't know whether it's been passed out to
you or not -- that gives the schedule for the meetings between
President Bush and President Yeltsin. I have a brief statement
that I'd like to give, and then I'd be delighted to try and take
your questions.
The starting point for this summit is very
straightforward; it is democracy and freedom. Russia is now
democratic. The captive nations of the former Soviet Union are
free. So these facts create an entirely different context for
this Washington summit, presenting opportunities that were,
indeed, unimaginable during the Soviet era.
As he meets with President Yeltsin, the democratically-
elected leader of an independent and democratic Russia, President
Bush is focused on building a democratic peace with Russia. This
would be a fundamentally different peace than the peace that
existed during the Cold War because it would be built on our
shared democratic values, not competition, nor a balance of
terror. It would be a true and enduring peace, not a cold peace
such as existed during the Cold War when all we could hope to do
was to manage conflicts and contain crises.
Now we aim to build a true partnership and friendship
with the Russian government and the Russian people. The
President's discussions with President Yeltsin will focus on the
full range of our relations -- political, economic, and military.
our hope is not just to exchange views now, but to chart a new
agenda in our relations, and agenda built on democratic values
that can guide us well into the future.
Let me discuss several critical topics that the
President expects to discuss with President Yeltsin. First of
all, the President will want to hear about the situation in
Russia and how President Yeltsin's efforts to build democracy are
proceeding. We've been making progress on many issues, for
example, POW-MIA concerns, and the President will want to express
our appreciation to President Yeltsin for his efforts in these
areas.
Second, the President plans to discuss the state of
Russia's relations with its neighbors, particularly Ukraine, the
Baltics, and the trans-Caucasus states. The President will also
want to see how we may be helpful in resolving the Northern
Territories dispute with Russia's neighbor and potential partner
in the Pacific, Japan.
Third, the two Presidents will want to discuss European
security. In particular, they will discuss the continuing
humanitarian nightmare in Bosnia; the steps that we and others
collectively take to try to alleviate the terrible human
suffering in Sarajevo; and the possible mechanisms that we might
propose to improve Europe's ability to prevent and manage
conflicts and to strengthen the capabilities for peacekeeping,
including a role for NATO.
Fourth, we will discuss next steps in arms control and
defense cooperation. Obviously, the Presidents hope to reach an
agreement on further far-reaching resolution in strategic nuclear
weapons. But we also plan to discuss how we can work together to
combat proliferation both through efforts in places like North
Korea, through strengthening nonproliferation regimes and through
working together on missile warning and strategic defenses.
With the Cold War behind us, we also want to move
toward partnership between our militaries. And the President
will want to discuss ways we can and will deepen and widen our
military contacts and dialogue. President Yeltsin is pursuing a
courageous path toward free markets and President Bush will want
to hear how recent steps fit into the overall reform effort. In
particular, the President will want to discuss Russia's efforts
at microeconomic and structural reform, privatization and
demonopolization. As Russia works with the IMF on putting
together its macroeconomic reform program, we feel it is also
essential that Russia move forward quickly with progress on
microeconomic reform as well. This is, of course, essential for
promoting the growth of a middle class in Russia and for
stimulating the involvement of our private sector in Russia's
reform efforts.
Finally, President Yeltsin has various appointments
around Washington, the most important of which is undoubtedly his
address before a joint session of the Congress. On April 1st the
President sent the freedom support act to the Congress, asking
both the Senate and the House to join him in supporting democracy
and freedom in Russia and in the new independent states. It was
the President's goal to have the freedom support act passed by
the time President Yeltsin arrived here. We hope that the Senate
will exert leadership and pass the freedom support act this week.
Further, we hope that after hearing personally from
President Yeltsin on this subject, that both Houses will move
quickly to join in a bipartisan fashion with the administration
to pass the freedom support act, thereby signalling America's
unequivocal and bipartisan support for democracy in Russia and in
the new independent states as a whole.
Q Are both leaders going to sign a new arms
reduction treaty -- nuclear arms?
SECRETARY BAKER: Well, as I just indicated in my
remarks, I think that is very much the hope of both of the
leaders. There is no such agreement as yet. I spoke to the
Russian Foreign Minister as recently as last night, and I will be
meeting with him this evening after the presidential party
arrives to try and iron out four or five differences that still
exist that we have to --
Q Well, what's the problem? I mean, it seems to me
you're going down to the wire. You really do have it, don't you?
SECRETARY BAKER: No, I don't think you can say we
really do have it. I wish we did. We have four or five
problems, at least two of which are extraordinarily difficult
problems that we hope to work through. But we do not have it.
We hope to have it during the course of President Yeltsin's
visit.
Q Are you concerned that by the slowing of the pace
of reforms that Mr. Yeltsin has pulled back on some of his
economic reforms? Is there any doubt in your mind about his
sincerity?
SECRETARY BAKER: I've said before that I think that
what President Yeltsin and his colleagues are doing represents
the height of political courage. When you look at what they are
trying to do -- and that is completely change politically,
socially and economically a system that has existed for 70 years
into the opposite model, it represents extraordinary political
courage. So there are difficulties in getting it done.
My sense is that President Yeltsin and his team are
very much still committed to the reform effort, that they are
committed, indeed, to the shadow program that they agreed to with
the IMF, and that they understand the need to carry forward with
the reforms if they are going to receive a stand-by agreement
from the International Monetary Fund.
Now, having said that, I've spent three and a half
years, as you know, dealing with these problems, and I've never
seen a country yet that didn't have some trouble with one element
or another of a very comprehensive IMF reform program, and that's
what I think you're seeing now with Russia.
I think that they will remain committed to the major
components of that program because they know how important it is,
and they know -- I think they believe that reform otherwise will
not succeed. But it should not be surprising to anybody that
there are tremendous political pressures that make it very
difficult to do.
Q Mr. Secretary, on the question of proliferation,
let me ask you about the Middle East. Does the United States feel
that China is honoring the pledges that it made to you last
November about stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction
to the Middle East, and specifically, does the United States
believe that, North Korea is acting as a proxy for China in the
delivery of some weapon systems to the Middle East?
SECRETARY BAKER: With respect to the latter question,
John, I have not heard the suggestion made that North Korea is
acting as a proxy for China. There may be some in this vast
government of ours who believe that; I have not seen any reports
to that effect and I have not seen any suggestions to that effect
by responsible officials.
With respect to whether or not China is adhering to the
commitments they undertook when I was there last November, I
should say that in the trade field we feel that they are living
up to the commitments that we received. In the field of
compliance with the requirements of the missile technology
control regime, which is the only commitment that I obtained when
I was there in November, we think they are, so far, living up to
that commitment. And I think we are watching that fairly
closely.
With respect to the very modest commitments that we
were given on human rights, there's still a lot of room for
improvement.
Q Can you tell us, are you worried that Yeltsin is
going to go away from this summit without any clear commitment on
economic support, that because of Congress not acting you're
going to have to send him away empty-handed again and that that's
going to create problems?
SECRETARY BAKER: Well, one of the reasons that we were
hopeful that the freedom support act would be passed by the time
President Yeltsin got here was so that we could demonstrate that,
as a country, as a whole, we were united in our desire to support
democracy and reform when it finally comes to Russia. I've said
before I think that this is a once in a willing to spend some dollars now
to lack in this once in a century opportunity.
I hope and believe that the Senate will move the bill
this week. And if they do I think that will be a very, very,
good sign. I am heartened by the fact that Committees in both
Houses, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House
Foreign Affairs Committee, have reported the bill out positively
by fairly significant margins, and I should say, have taken care
in the process of some objectable amendments that the
administration opposed. So on balance, I'm encouraged that the
Congress will move. I think it is important. I hope that
President Yeltsin and his team understand the requirements of the
legislative process here, just as they ask us to understand the
requirements of the legislative process in Russia.
Q Sir, can you tell us any more about this
revelation by Yeltsin about these 12 downed American pilots going
back to the 50's. The President said in Rio on Saturday he was
surprise to hear about, that Gorbachev had assured him and denied
that any such thing had happened. The family of at least one of
these people is coming to Washington to try to find out what
happened to this particular flyer. Can you give us the history
of this? Didn't our reconnaissance photos, the U-2 and so forth,
didn't it know what happened to some of these pilots?
SECRETARY BAKER: I can't answer that, I would have to
refer you to the Pentagon with respect to whether we knew back in
the 50's that there were downed pilots in the Soviet Union. I
would point to this, though, as an example of the kind of
cooperation that we now see on the part of a democratic Russia,
and just another example of why I think it is important to the
United States that democracy and reform in Russia succeed.
Q Can I just follow that up? When you talk to the
Russian Foreign Minister as late as last night, did you ask him
if they'd uncovered any more information about these 12?
SECRETARY BAKER: I didn't ask him specifically about
that. I have had fairly extensive conversations in the past
about cooperation on POW-MIA matters, and I think we're now
seeing cooperation. But I was not -- no, my conversation with
him dealt with strategic weapons and cooperation in defenses and
that sort of thing.
Q My story said that we still have --
SECRETARY BAKER: Just a minute, Sarah, we've got
somebody asking a question up here.
Q Do you read any significance into President
Yeltin's decision to appoint Mr. Gaydar as Acting Prime Minister?
Do you think he did that to send a signal in advance of his
arrival here?
SECRETARY BAKER: I do. I think it sends the signal
that one of the champions of reform and commitment to the free
market is still very much a player, contrary to earlier
assumptions on the part of some that he was going to be eclipsed,
particularly during the visit, by some other people.
Q Sir, following up on the gentleman's question on
POW's, the story says that there might be some live POW's still
left over there; we don't know, and we were waiting for the
answer. And Mr. Yeltsin had been giving information that the KGB
lied about before, so I wonder if you can't get something,
particularly because -- you know, there was a charge going around
here a long time ago, and I think you denied it, that you,
yourself, had contributed
SECRETARY BAKER: That I had what?
Q Shredded names of POWS over there.
SECRETARY BAKER: Shredded names of POWS? well, that is
ridiculous.
Q -- big flack about that around, and I know you
denied it before, I think.
SECRETARY BAKER: I never denied it before, because I've never heard
of it before, and I don't know anybody who has heard of it before. But
let me say, we continue to talk to the Yeltsin government about POW-MIA
cooperation and we are getting very good cooperation. We now have a joint
Commission that has been appointed and former Ambassador to the Soviet
Union Malcolm Toone went over there and there's a lot of very good
cooperation now between the two governments, and I'm sure that will
continue.
Q Mr. Secretary, are you intending to stay at the
State Department for the remainder of Mr. Bush's first term
rather than come either to the White House or the Bush-Quayle
campaign in some managerial capacity?
SECRETARY BAKER: Look, I've said before that there have been no
discussion about that subject, and if there were going to be, it wouldn't
be in this forum.
Q This is a nice, safe one. In your topics you didn't list the
Middle East. Will you discuss it at all with Boris Yeltsin or are all
Russian-American moves moribund until after the Israeli elections on the
Middle East?
SECRETARY BAKER: The Middle East will be one of the regional topics
that will be discussed. And whether it will be discussed at the
presidential level or at the foreign minister level I can't answer for you
right here now.
Q A follow-up. Today Bill Clinton again criticized the U.S. about
the loan guarantees. Is there any movement on that or is that again going
to wait until after the Israeli elections?
SECRETARY BAKER: Well, that issue is right where it has been.
Q Mr. Secretary, you were asked whether there was a danger Yeltsin
would go away empty-handed on economics and you only came up with one
example, which was maybe the Senate would pass the bill. Is there
anything else that you can give him --
SECRETARY BAKER: Oh, yes --
Q -- and in particular, they are looking for assurances that the
United States and other major members of IMF will make sure that package
goes through even if their out of compliance on some of the letter of the
regulations like on energy prices.
SECRETARY BAKER: Well, I meant to at least signal that we think it's
important that they make sure they comply with the major elements of the
IMF program. But if you say you've got to hold them to each and every --
crossing of each and every t and the dotting of each and every I, that
isn't the way it works, that isn't the way it normally works with any
country and it shouldn't work that way with Russia.
They will also be going away with more than just what I alluded to.
I mean, we're talking about a trade agreement; we're talking about MFN;
we're talking about the possibility of a bilateral investment treaty -- we
don't have that one yet nailed down. So there will be a number of other
economic benefits I think flowing both ways from this trip.
Q So as far as IMF is concerned, as far as you're concerned, they
still qualify?
SECRETARY BAKER: Oh, yes. But they need to continue to make sure
that they're taking the steps that are called for in the reform program.
Q Mr. Secretary, is the administration satisfied with the vote of
the Japanese Parliament to permit some limited Japanese military
participation in the U.N. peacekeeping forces? Does that go far enough in
our view?
SECRETARY BAKER: That's a matter really for Japan to determine, and
I wouldn't want to inject myself in the middle of that debate, which is
contentious enough as it is.
Q Mr. Secretary, Mr. Yeltsin in his interviews last week made a
great deal of the importance of a charter to be agreed between the two
countries, principles of relations and so forth. It sounds like the kind
of thing that previous administrations in the United States have had a lot
of trouble with because it's so general and seems to commit but doesn't
really commit. Are you going to promulgate such a charter and why do you
think this will help things at this point?
SECRETARY BAKER: The answer is yes, we are. And the reason that
we're going to do it is because, as I just indicated in my formal remarks
to you, it's a new day. This summit is going to revolve around democracy
and freedom. We don't now have a situation where bitter adversaries,
bitter enemies are meeting. So it's quite appropriate, I think, to have
such a charter and we will have one.
Q Is the President going to offer any new initiative on limiting
nuclear testing?
SECRETARY BAKER: No.
Q Mr. Secretary, this list of assistance and support for the IMF,
is any of that conditional upon the finalization of the nuclear treaty?
SECRETARY BAKER: No, none of that is conditioned and there's
been no linkage between the two. Let me, Susan, make sure you understand
what I'm saying -- I'm saying there will not be such a proposal in
connection with this summit.
Q Is that then one of the sticking points that we're talking
about--
SECRETARY BAKER: No, no, no. That's not -- no, that's not one of
the four or five things we're working on.
Last question, Barry.
Q Assuming that the cease-fire in Yugoslavia holds, do you have a
sense of how soon it would be before American transport planes would begin
to take supplies in there?
SECRETARY BAKER: No, I don't have an estimate of the timing for you.
As you know, our military planners have been up in New York. We are
increasing the amount of intelligence that we are supplying to the United
Nations and we've made it clear I talked *** one line is missing
***whatever we can to assist the United Nations humanitarian effort in
Bosnia.
Thank you.
THE PRESS: Thank you.