    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [January 30, 1996]
    [Pages 114-116]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin of
    Russia and an Exchange With Reporters
    January 30, 1996

    Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission

        The President. Let me say that we are delighted to have Prime
    Minister Chernomyrdin here. He and the Vice President have had very good
    meetings, and the relationship that they have established and the work
    they have done I think has played a major role in the continued
    strengthening of our partnership with Russia. And I'm very pleased at
    the progress of this meeting, and I'm very pleased again to have him
    here in the United States.
        Prime Minister Chernomyrdin. Thank you, Mr. President. We have just
    held the sixth session of the commission, so we made some significant
    progress. And I believe that it is due to the organization of your side
    that it was possible to have some results. Perhaps for the lack of time,
    we don't have as many results as we could have. Well, I think that this
    is due to the Vice President, Mr. Gore, that we have this success.
        The President. He thought it was due to you.

    Russia

        Q. President Clinton, are you concerned and are you going to speak
    about some of the anti-reform forces that seem to be operating in the
    former Soviet Union?
        The President. Well, we're going to have a discussion about where
    things are in Russia on a number of issues, but I personally am
    convinced, by the assurances that I received from President Yeltsin on
    our telephone call last week and the record that the Prime Minister
    himself has established, that Russia is firmly moving forward on reform.
    And I believe that Russia will receive the support of the International
    Monetary Fund and the other international institutions as well as the
    United States and other allies. I think we'll keep moving in this
    direction.
        They had a good year in 1995: They had inflation down; production
    was stable; the ruble was stronger. I think that they're seeing some
    real economic growth there, and it's a record they can be proud of.

    Chechnya

        Q. What about Chechnya? Are you going to discuss that, and do you
    have continuing questions about it?
        The President. I talked to President Yeltsin about that last week,
    but we'll have a few words about it.

    Welfare Reform

        Q. Do you plan to veto a Senate version of the welfare bill, the
    next welfare bill? There's

    [[Page 115]]

    some talk that conservatives will want to send you a tougher bill than
    the one that you vetoed last year.
        The President. You mean a bill that would be tougher to veto, not a
    tougher bill. [Laughter] The Senate--the version that passed the Senate
    is a better bill than the bill that they sent me. But in fairness also
    to the congressional leaders, we discussed welfare reform extensively in
    the context of the budget negotiations. And I suppose whether they
    decide to send a separate bill in part depends upon whether we can reach
    a comprehensive agreement on the budget. But we had reached some
    understandings that I think would give us an even better bill.
        Now, the Republicans, to be fair to them, are not bound by any of
    the discussions we had in the budget because we had a general agreement
    that nothing was agreed to until everything was agreed to. But we had
    certainly moved well beyond that bill in our discussions and made some
    critical improvements, particularly in the question of child care for
    women who would go into the work force and on the question of how to
    handle the families of children with disabilities, those two things.
        We made some real movement beyond the Senate bill. So I would hope
    if they do send me a separate bill, which of course is their perfect
    right to do, that it would reflect the discussions that we had here in
    the budget negotiations.

    ``Primary Colors''

        Q. Who do you think wrote ``Primary Colors?''
        The President. I don't know. I haven't read it.
        Q. Are you going to?
        The President. I don't know. I've got a lot of books to read. I
    probably will. I'm going to have a lot of book-reading time this year,
    because I'm going to be traveling a lot. But I haven't read it, and I
    have no idea who wrote it. I mean, you all find out everything in the
    wide world. The least you could do is tell all of us who wrote that
    book. I must say, I admire the publisher and the author. It's the only
    secret I've seen kept in Washington in 3 years.

    [At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group
    entered.]

    Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission

        Q. Mr. President, can I ask you a question?
        The President. Yes, but before, let me make a brief statement.
        It is a real honor for us in the United States to have Prime
    Minister Chernomyrdin here again. I very much appreciate the work that
    he has done with Vice President Gore and the progress that they have
    made on many specific issues and, in general, in strengthening the ties
    and the partnership between the United States and Russia. So they've had
    another good meeting. I think that the Russian people and President
    Yeltsin will be very well pleased with the results. And I just want to
    say, for my part, how much I appreciate the time and the effort and the
    skill that the Prime Minister has brought to this work.
        Q. Mr. President, this $9 billion, that's important for Russia
    money-wise and important as a sign of support, recognition. Can I report
    back home that you support Russia with this $9 billion loan?
        The President. Yes.
        Q. Unconditionally?
        The President. As far as I know, they've worked out--they either
    have worked out or we are in the process of seeing worked out the
    differences between them. So I believe that the loan will go through,
    and I believe that it should.

    Russia-U.S. Relations

        Q. Are you going to visit Moscow in April?
        The President. That's where we're going to have our meeting, isn't
    it? I told President Yeltsin I'd be there, and I intend to be there. I'm
    looking forward to it. And as you know, our United States Senate just
    ratified the START II treaty. And I'm hoping that the treaty will find
    favor in the Russian Duma. And then I'm really looking forward to our
    meeting in April and moving forward with a comprehensive nuclear test
    ban treaty and a number of other issues.
        I think that the leadership that President Yeltsin has taken in
    bringing together to discuss these issues is very important for the
    safety of the world and in reassuring all the countries and the people
    of the world that aggression of governments against one another is no
    longer an option. We have to work together to make all of our people
    safer and all of our people more prosperous.

    [[Page 116]]

        Q. Mr. President, would you say that the general business between
    America and Russia is usual?
        The President. Excuse me?
        Q. Business between America and Russia is still as usual?
        The President. I think that cooperation is there, the partnership is
    there, and I feel good about it. Perhaps the Prime Minister should
    comment.

    [At this point, Prime Minister Chernomyrdin answered the question in
    Russian, and a translation was not provided.]

    Note: The President spoke at 2:40 p.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to President Boris Yeltsin of Russia.
    A tape was not available for verification of the content of these
    remarks.