GORE AND CHERNOMYRDIN TALK ABOUT NUCLEAR ARMS CONTROL.

START-2 and the possibility of a START-3 agreement were also among the topics discussed by Gore and Chernomyrdin in Washington. At their February 7 press conference Gore said that their focus was to bring START II into force and "get on quickly" with further reductions in START III. START II has yet to be ratified by Russia and has been hung up in the Duma. Previously, U.S. officials have said that they would not move on to new negotiations until the earlier treaty was approved. Gore suggested that Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin might discuss strategic nuclear arms reductions during their March summit in Finland and hinted that the two countries could create "guidelines" for START-3 that would mitigate the economic impact for Russia of START II. These guidelines, he said, would "show both countries how we could move to lower levels of warheads…without requiring the expenditures necessary in either country to comply with the START II levels and mix of forces." (White House press release, February 7)

IMF Resumes Russian Loan Payments…