BEREZOVSKII NEWSPAPER ENDORSES GORE...
"Nezavisimaya gazeta," which is controlled by Boris Berezovskii,
argues that U.S. Vice President Al Gore's victory in the U.S.
presidential election scheduled for 7 November is more desirable
for Russia than a victory by Texas Governor George W. Bush.
The daily comments that Gore is the "number two man in the
incumbent administration, with whom the Kremlin has developed a
stable, albeit not ideal, relationship." Bush's program, on the other
hand, indicates that the Republican presidential candidate "is not
an avid supporter of dialogue with Russia." However, the daily
notes that while Gore is "preferable," Bush "is [still] good for us in
that he has no experience of foreign policy." The newspaper also
reveals that there have been unpublicized meetings between
Russian officials and Bush advisers over the past 18 months. JAC
...AS ZHIRINOVSKII PREDICTS BUSH WIN...
In an interview with "Vremya MN" on 1 November, former
ambassador to the U.S. Yulii Vorontsov voiced a similar view of
Gore, noting that "it will be more difficult for us to get used to
Bush. There would be no need to get used to Gore." Liberal
Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovskii told
reporters on 5 November that while Gore's victory would be
better for Russia, Bush will win with 52.6 percent of the vote.
Zhirinovskii noted that Republicans "are more pragmatic [than
Democrats], pay less attention to human rights and are more
concerned with U.S. interests, and [these characteristics] perhaps
could be of use to Russia." JAC
rferl.org |
