| On Sunday, April 4, we met in a more formal... 125 |
[Jan. 31st, 2010|11:47 pm] |
On Sunday, April 4, we met in a more formal setting to discuss security issues, with Yeltsin and his advisors sitting across the table from me and mineAs before, Yeltsin began aggressively, demanding that we change our arms control positions and open American markets to Russian products like satellite rocket launchers without requiring export controls that would prohibit Russian sales of military technology to Americas adversaries like Iran and IraqWith the help of our hard-nosed expert, Lynn Davis, I hung tough on export controls and rebuffed the arms control demands by referring them to our staffs for further study
The atmosphere brightened when we moved on to economicsI described the economics package as cooperation, not assistance, then asked Lloyd Bentsen to outline the proposals we would make to the G-7 in TokyoYeltsin became alarmed when he realized that we couldnt get him any money before the April 25 referendumThough I couldnt give Boris the $500 million check he wanted, at the press conference following our final session I made it plain that a lot of money was coming, because the United States supported Russias democracy, its reforms, and its leader
I left Vancouver with more confidence in Yeltsin and a better understanding of the magnitude of his challenges and his visceral determination to overcome themHe was a big bear of a man, full of apparent contradictionsHe had grown up in primitive conditions that made my childhood look like a Rockefellers, and he could be crude, but he had a fine mind capable of grasping the |
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