    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [June 20, 1991]
    [Pages 702-704]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters Prior to Discussions With
    President Boris Yeltsin of the Republic of Russia
    June 20, 1991

        President Bush. Well, I'm very pleased to welcome to the White House
    the newly-elected President of the Russian Republic, Boris Yeltsin. And
    I want to publicly congratulate President Yeltsin on a truly historic
    victory in this election last week which made him the first
    democratically elected leader in the long and rich 1,000-year history of
    Russia. And to put it in American terms, he won by a landslide.
        We will be interested in his views on the critical issues
    confronting the U.S.S.R. and its place in the world: the attempt that
    we're following from afar to forge a new union treaty, this historic
    effort to transform the Soviet economy, the imperative of freedom for
    the Baltic peoples, and of course, continued good relations with the
    United States and the West.
        We have been heartened and encouraged by President Yeltsin's
    commitment to democratic values and free-market principles, and we look
    forward to working with him. But at the same time--I want to be very
    clear about this--the United States will continue to maintain the
    closest possible official relationship with the Soviet Government of
    President Gorbachev. Indeed, in just the few minutes we've had inside,
    President Yeltsin has told me that he and President Gorbachev are in
    very close contact and working cooperatively together to achieve these
    ends.
        He knows that I have great respect for President Gorbachev, as I do
    for him. And we have an excellent relationship, and our ability to work
    together has produced, I think, enormous benefits for both of our

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    countries and it served the cause of world peace and stability in the
    world.
        So, let's not forget that it was President Gorbachev's courageous
    policies of glasnost and perestroika that were the pivotal factors
    enabling us to end the cold war and make Europe whole and free. So, in
    this new world in which the United States works with the new Soviet
    Union, we want and intend to have good relations with the Soviet
    Government and certainly the Republic Governments. And certainly,
    obviously, with this dramatic election, that includes Russia, the
    largest of them all.
        We're very pleased to have the good fortune to work with such
    impressive men as President Gorbachev and President Yeltsin. And again,
    sir, welcome to the United States. You've made a tremendous impression
    here already, not simply in the Congress and at the White House but with
    the people along The Mall out here. And that's what democracy is all
    about.
        So, I really am looking forward to exchanging views on these
    questions and any other questions that are on your agenda. Welcome to
    the White House.
        All yours, sir.
        President Yeltsin. I thank you for the warm words addressed to my
    homeland, to Russia, to President Gorbachev, and to me. I thank you for
    receiving me here in the White House and for this invitation to exchange
    views on the present-day situation in Russia, in my country, and also
    about the future which we are eager to build.
        The popular elections for the President of Russia, which was the
    choice of the majority of the people of Russia, was indeed the choice in
    favor of democracy and the profound economic and social reform.
        We are also believers in freedom for the peoples of the Baltic
    countries who should not be chained because one cannot build a union
    with chains.
        I want to assure you, Mr. President, and through you, the people of
    the United States, that all the positive things that have been attained
    and achieved by President Nixon, by you personally, by President
    Gorbachev, in the fields of security and cooperation, in reducing the
    global military confrontation, is a major achievement of us all. And I
    shall seek to develop this achievement together with President
    Gorbachev.
        Indeed, we still have forces back at home which want to go back to
    the times of stagnation. But I can, with all the responsibility, assure
    you that this will not happen. Russia, which accounts for 70 percent of
    the gross national product of the Soviet Union, is firmly and
    irrevocably committed to democracy. And it will not allow any reversion
    of the course of history.
        Once again, Mr. President, I thank you for this invitation, and I
    hope that we shall have a success in our discussions. I thank you.
        Q. Mr. President----
        Q. Mr. President----
        President Bush. We can't take any questions. Maybe--should we each
    take one?
        Q. Earlier today, President Yeltsin said that he thought all Soviet
    foreign aid should be stopped, that charity begins at home. He included
    Cuba in this. I assume you would approve of such remarks.
        President Bush. I'd say the matter of foreign aid is a matter for
    the Soviet Union to determine. They know that we've had differences on
    Cuba, and it wouldn't hurt my feelings a bit if they cut off all foreign
    aid to Cuba, if that's the question.
        President Yeltsin. It is my understanding that this question is also
    addressed to me. I have said that the Supreme Soviet of the Russian
    Federation has enacted a law under which all extenuous systems of all
    countries and all regimes is terminated. All without exception. And I am
    stressing that point. We only have 180 million rubles to disburse for
    Afghanistan. But we have warned the people that as of July 1, assistance
    will be terminated. We shall have to trade with them.
        Afghanistan has tobacco, fruit, and vegetables. And they can trade
    with us, more so that they are very good merchants. We want to maintain
    commercial relations with all the countries, not just give us help and
    assistance, because I do believe that charity begins at home. And in my
    country two out of every five persons live below the poverty line.
        President Bush. May I have the last word? See, I've learned
    something here. If I had had that answer inside before I gave my

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    answer, I might have had a more knowledgeable answer.
        So, now we're going to go in and do some work in here. And I learned
    something with great interest here about the laws as already passed in
    the Soviet Union. And I salute them. That's their decision. And it's not
    the United States role to fine-tune how the Soviet Union or Russia or
    anybody else deal with other countries. That's their business. And I'm
    very interested in that answer. And now we're going to go in and learn
    some more.

                        Note: President Bush spoke at 3:23 p.m. in the Rose
                            Garden at the White House. In his remarks, he
                            referred to President Mikhail Gorbachev of the
                            Soviet Union. President Yeltsin spoke in
                            Russian, and his remarks were translated by an
                            interpreter.