Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 13, 1994 TAG: 9401130231
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: KIEV, UKRAINE LENGTH: Medium
After a short airport meeting with Ukraine's President Leonid Kravchuk, Clinton said the accord would be signed Friday in Moscow by them and Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
He then headed for the Russian capital for a summit meeting clouded by rising discontent over Yeltsin's reform programs and uncertainty about how much more money the United States could provide.
Clinton arrived at the Moscow airport a little before 1 a.m. (Moscow time). He was greeted in light snow by a delegation including Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and was handed a bouquet of flowers by a woman in the group. He made no statement before leaving for his hotel.
Clinton said earlier his "urgent task" in Moscow would be to press for reform and against growing nationalism.
Wednesday in the Czech capital of Prague, Clinton won reluctant approval from the leaders of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia for his Partnership for Peace program. They had wanted full membership in NATO but accepted the offer of a cooperative arrangement as a first step.
At a joint news conference with Kravchuk, who wanted the Kiev stopover as a prestige boost, Clinton said Ukraine could count on assurances from Washington and Moscow that it would not be attacked with nuclear weapons.
Moreover, Clinton said, "We are prepared to increase our support substantially." A senior U.S. official said on the flight to Kiev from Prague that U.S. aid of $155 million a year could be doubled or increased even beyond that.
Additionally, Ukraine is to receive $177 million from a fund set up by Congress to cover costs of dismantling 1,800 nuclear warheads and up to $1 billion once the uranium in the warheads is reprocessed and sold for use in nuclear reactors.
In the past, the Ukrainian Parliament has blocked moves to carry out Ukraine's pledge in 1991 to get rid of its long-range nuclear weapons and to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Some members of parliament are still skeptical of the accord, but Clinton has said he was confident Kravchuk could get it implemented by executive order.
Kravchuk hailed the agreement. "I am sure that this day and the forthcoming days open the way for the world for disarmament and for the elimination of nuclear weapons," he said.
In a gesture of friendship, Clinton said he had invited Kravchuk to visit the United States in March.
"This breakthrough will enhance the security of Ukraine, the United States, Russia and the entire world," Clinton said at the news conference near the end of a stop that lasted scarcely three hours.
In addition to the promise of Western aid, Russia, which provides Ukraine with about 96 percent of its energy, has promised to sell oil and gas at bargain rates and to respect Ukraine's territory.
Clinton's summit with Yeltsin is even more challenging than shepherding the arms accord with Ukraine.
The trip to Moscow was planned initially to showcase U.S. support for political and economic reform. But the hardships that abrupt change have caused the Russian people - along with the growing political strength of ultranationalists - have turned Clinton's visit into a tough diplomatic test.
Expectations even from reformers are modest.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.