…WHILE UNITED STATES GIVES CONFLICTING SIGNALS.

While U.S. secretary of state Warren Christopher yesterday expressed alarm about recent events in Russia, U.S. president Bill Clinton said Russia was still a democracy and should be given wide berth when reacting to specific incidents of terrorism. Speaking at Harvard University, Christopher said Russia had not yet overcome the ruinous legacy of communism and that its transformation to democracy was not yet assured. Although he reiterated the determination of the Clinton administration to cooperate with Russia, Christopher said Moscow could not expect to be fully integrated into western security and economic institutions (such as the International Monetary Fund and the G-7) if it ignored international norms. (3) In stark contrast to the sharp criticism of senior U.S. officials in recent days, President Clinton yesterday neither denounced the violent Russian military response to the Dagestan hostage crisis, nor expressed fear of a reversal of Russian economic and political reform. Rather, Clinton stressed it was important not to overreact to Moscow’s recent shift toward the right. (4)

Seleznev Refuses to Hand in Party Card.