BUSH, YELTSIN SIGN ARMS TREATY

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 4, 1993                   TAG: 9301040077
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO   
SOURCE: From the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post
DATELINE: MOSCOW                                LENGTH: Medium
BUSH, YELTSIN SIGN ARMS TREATY
President Bush and a jubilant Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the most sweeping East-West arms-reduction accord ever Sunday.
Yeltsin voiced optimism about the future of U.S.-Russian ties. Describing any pause in his contacts with Washington as potentially alarming, he announced that he privately proposed to President-elect Bill Clinton two days ago that they meet in a third country right after Clinton is inaugurated.
Clinton, asked later about Yeltsin's invitation, said "no decision has been made about that yet," but he added that "I do look forward to meeting with him early."
"It is rare that a week went by that George Bush and I didn't talk by phone," Yeltsin said, making a point of lauding the outgoing leader. "I hope the new president will take over the baton that is being given to him at such a high level."
Yeltsin called the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty - START 2 - "the treaty of hope."
The treaty mandates a two-thirds' reduction in the two countries' existing strategic nuclear arsenals by the year 2003.
Bush said, "What this treaty means, not for presidents or premiers, not for historians or heads of state, but for parents and for their children: It means a future far more free from fear."
Yeltsin assured his people that even after all the cuts mandated by START 2, the country will boast a "powerful shield which is capable of defending Russia."
The treaty must be approved by Russia's Parliament and the U.S. Senate to take effect.
A senior U.S. official said that while the fundamental point of this final of 25 overseas trips was to cap Bush's presidency with the signing of the treaty, the administration hoped the visit would keep Russia high on Clinton's agenda.
Clinton has generally supported the results of the START negotiations, Bush said.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB