Clinton Will Deal With Whoever Leads Russia

Three days before Russia’s presidential election, President Clinton played up his relationship with Boris Yeltsin but said the United States will deal with whichever leader is elected.

“We will support the right of the people of Russia to pick their own leaders,” said Clinton, who has done little to disguise his preference for Yeltsin over Communist presidential candidate Gennady Zyuganov.

The very fact that Russia is having democratic elections is “an extraordinary thing,” Clinton said.

“I’ve had a very good, positive relationship with President Yeltsin,” the president said. “But we support the democratic process in Russia….We will deal with the decision that they make.”

Concerns about Russia’s future, meanwhile, dominated two congressional hearings Thursday. Former CIA Director R. James Woolsey testified that even if Yeltsin wins re-election, corruption is destroying chances for lasting reform.

Woolsey said Russia looks a lot like Germany after World War I - “a lost empire, shrunken and bitter military and security institutions, inflation-wracked elderly citizens, deep resentment over a supposed Western stab in the back, virulent anti-semitism and shaky democratic institutions.”

A presidential adviser said U.S. assistance has dropped from $2.4 billion in fiscal 1994 to a requested $640 million for fiscal 1997.