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To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (16398)	8/22/1998 11:19:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116764

Yeltsin and Clinton meeting -an incredible irony? FOCUS-Upper chamber head defends Yeltsin, cabinet 01:52 p.m Aug 22, 1998 Eastern By Timothy Heritage MOSCOW, Aug 22 (Reuters) - The speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament rallied behind President Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko on Saturday, dismissing calls for them to resign over the country's financial crisis. ''I think it would be premature to remove the government,'' Yegor Stroyev told Interfax news agency, one day after the State Duma (lower house) criticised Kiriyenko and adopted a resolution urging Yeltsin to quit. ''The difficulties and mistakes we are now suffering are the result of the irresponsible work of the previous government and errors regarding the GKO (treasury bill) market.'' Stroyev, 61, defended Yeltsin as he has done regularly since becoming upper house speaker more than two years ago and called for cooperation to take the place of confrontation. ''We've had enough state coups,'' he said. ''We must learn to reach constructive agreements.'' The opposition-dominated Duma slammed the four-month-old government on Friday at a special session on the crisis. It particularly attacked this week's de facto devaluation of the rouble and what many analysts said amounted to a debt default. The Federation Council, as the upper house is known, holds its own special session on the crisis next Friday. It is made up of regional leaders and so gives a chance for Russia's 89 regions to express their views of the economic problems. Russian newspapers said trust in Yeltsin was at a new low after months of crisis in which shares have sunk and treasury bill yields -- the return investors demand for lending money to the government -- soared. GKO debts are now to be restructured. ''It is hard to imagine a more unpleasant political situation in Moscow for the president following yesterday's Duma session,'' said the liberal Nezavisimaya Gazeta. ''The confrontation line between the president and parliament brings to mind the start of the autumn of 1993, but now the president's position is in some ways weaker.'' Yeltsin faced a stand-off with hardliners in parliament in 1993 which he resolved by using tanks. Yeltsin had much more public support then than now. Because of the fall in his support, there was a hollow ring to a written statement issued by Yeltsin on Saturday to mark the anniversary of the failed coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991. Despite his opposition to Gorbachev, Yeltsin helped rally people against the coup plotters, and the anniversary of the failure of the coup is now known as Russian State Flag Day. ''Under this flag we united seven years ago in a striving for changes, renewal and truth,'' Yeltsin said in his statement. Even those who gathered in central Moscow to commemorate what they call was a victory of democracy, said Yeltsin's absence hurt their feelings. Yeltsin has been holidaying for most of the past month -- probably the worst period of Russia's financial crisis -- and rarely appeared in public. ''The president should have been with us today, But no one showed up,'' one demonstrator told Russian television. Just hundreds of metres (yards) away Communists and their supporters held a meeting under red Soviet flags demanding Yeltsin's prompt resignation. Russian newspapers noted that Yeltsin's opponents now say renewal and change can be achieved only if he steps aside. ''Today the president's political weight has just about reached a minimum and the reserves of trust in him among his opponents have practically run out,'' the respected Kommersant Daily newspaper said. Foreign leaders are showing their concern. They are worried the financial problems could spark concerted labour or social unrest in Russia and that the crisis could have a knock-on effect on other countries' economies. German Chancellor Helmut Kohl discussed the situation with Yeltsin by telephone on Saturday and a government spokesman in Bonn said Yeltsin promised to stick to promised reforms after Kohl urged him to win back the confidence of financial markets. French President Jacques Chirac had a similar telephone conversation with Yeltsin on Thursday. The European Union urged Russia on Saturday to stick to its policy of economic reform and implement fully a package of measures agreed with the International Monetary Fund, which threw Russia a multi-billion dollar lifeline last month. U.S. President Bill Clinton discussed the crisis with his advisers in Washington on Friday, the White House said. ''They've been very closely monitoring the situation in the Russian markets and the Russian economy. Obviously the president wants to be very well-briefed on that subject prior to his trip to Moscow,'' a spokesman said. Clinton and Yeltsin meet for a summit on September 1 and 2. Russia is due to unveil a debt restructuring plan on Monday, converting an estimated $40 billion worth of short-term debt into longer-term paper. Foreign investors fear the plan will favour Russians at the expense of foreigners. Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.