Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 9, 1995 TAG: 9501100039
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
``I think in Chechnya it's pretty obvious either somebody's lying or somebody's not in charge,'' said Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas.
Earlier, Vice President Al Gore expressed concern over shelling, but said of Yeltsin: ``We believe that he is in control.''
Gore, on CBS's ``Face the Nation,'' also said he expects President Clinton to veto any bill passed by Congress to lift the arms embargo against the Bosnian Muslims without allied approval.
In Russia, beleaguered government forces bombed central Grozny with limited success Sunday. The pounding continued two days after Yeltsin demanded to know why the city was being shelled despite his orders to halt, leaving the impression that Russia's commander in chief is not fully in control.
``There is a difference between what he said would happen and what he later found out happened,'' Gore said.
He called Yeltsin's televised rebuke of his defense minister over the bombings an ``unusual episode,'' but said Yeltsin retains a firm grip on the military command.
``I would predict that, in the aftermath of that public confrontation, that he will find a way to remove any doubts about the fact that he is in control,'' Gore said.
Dole disagreed: ``If he tells people the bombing has stopped and the bombing is still continuing ... he's not in charge.''
In the CNN interview, Dole said U.S. support for Yeltsin is eroding ``almost on a daily basis'' because of the bombing. ``When you're killing innocent civilians, it's not going to sell in this country,'' Dole said.
Other Republican and Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said Sunday that they were not ready to seek a reduction in U.S. aid to Moscow.
Clinton, an unswerving supporter of Yeltsin's moves toward democracy, has urged Moscow to settle the Chechnya uprising through negotiation.
Dole said the United States ``ought to be sympathetic with the Chechens if people are giving their lives; they're being attacked.''
Gore's response: ``There's a big difference'' between the plight of separate nations and the turmoil in Chechnya, which he called ``territory within the Russian nation.''
While pushing for a peaceful settlement, ``we are not going to challenge Russian territorial integrity,'' Gore said.
by CNB