Clinton Released From Hospital Early (3/16/97)

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Prepping For Helsinki

Clinton makes little headway with Russian foreign minister on NATO expansion quarrel

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 17) -- Well, maybe Bill will have better luck working on Boris.

President Bill Clinton passed off much of his schedule for the day to Vice President Al Gore, but kept today's big event on his own plate: a meeting this afternoon with Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov.

The two met for an hour this afternoon to try to soothe Russian anxieties over the U.S.'s plan to expand NATO.

No such luck. Despite the "great honor" of being received by the president as he recovers from his knee injury, "Russia will not change its position on NATO," Primakov said on his way out.

In Russia, Russian President Boris Yeltsin said, "Our diplomats have made enough concessions to the United States. We can't move any further. Now it's the U.S.'s turn to move in order to preserve our partnership."

The Clinton-Primakov chat was designed to see if any differences can be smoothed over before Clinton sits down with Yeltsin in Helsinki, Finland, on Thursday and Friday.

The U.S. plan to expand NATO is shaping up to be a major obstacle in the two days of talks that Clinton and Yeltsin have scheduled.

Yeltsin has flatly ruled out adding former East Bloc states to NATO as dangerous to Russia. "To us, bringing the alliance's military infrastructure closer to Russian territory is absolutely unacceptable," Yeltsin told Finland's leading newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, in an interview published Sunday.

The United States is determined to add such countries as Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and holds that such an expansion will lead to a safer Europe and will not threaten Russia.

Another issue is the Russian parliament's failure to pass the START II arms control treaty.

Primakov discussed these and other issues at the Pentagon on Saturday with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and on Sunday with Defense Secretary William Cohen, but it is not known if any progress was made during those talks.

Yeltsin, whose health has been precarious over the past year, is thought to be benefiting from Clinton's knee injury. Despite his heart trouble, he will stride into rooms that Clinton will hobble into during the summit.

He even got a good, clean shot off: In his get-well telegram to Clinton, he said he looked forward to getting together "as soon as your health allows."