The New York Times

Thursday, December 9, 1999

Yeltsin Wins Chinese Support

By The Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) -- Having won Chinese support for Russia's military campaign in Chechnya, Russian President Boris Yeltsin lashed out today at President Clinton, reminding Washington that Moscow still has a nuclear arsenal.

At a meeting with Li Peng, China's legislative chairman and the communist government's most hard-line leader, Yeltsin told reporters he wanted to send a message to Clinton, who this week criticized Russia for causing civilian casualties in Chechnya.

``It seems Mr. Clinton has forgotten Russia is a great power that possesses a nuclear arsenal. We aren't afraid at all of Clinton's anti-Russian position,'' Yeltsin said. ``I want to tell President Clinton that he alone cannot dictate how the world should live, work and play. It is us who will dictate.''

President Clinton today persisted in his criticism of Russia's campaign in Chechnya, saying it would not help Moscow achieve its objective in the restive region.

``Their goal, their legitimate goal, is to defeat the Chechen rebels and to stop their terrorism within Russia, to stop their invasion of neighboring provinces like Dagestan,'' Clinton said, ``and I don't think displacing hundreds of thousands of civilians will achieve that goal.''

Yeltsin, who left the hospital Monday after a week battling pneumonia, appeared animated in contrast with the frail or stiff displays he presented earlier in the day while leaving his plane and when meeting Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

In the first of three scheduled meetings during a 30-hour Beijing visit, Yeltsin and Jiang discussed the Russian campaign to rid Chechnya of what Moscow claims are terrorists and separatists. Both criticized U.S. global dominance.

``Jiang Zemin completely understands and fully supports Russia's actions in combatting terrorism and extremism in Chechnya,'' Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told reporters afterward.

Declining to say whether the leaders discussed Chechnya, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said at a separate briefing that China ``understands and supports the efforts made by Russia in safeguarding national unity and territorial integrity.''

The expression of Chinese support was a crucial goal of Yeltsin's trip, just three days after the Russian leader ended a weeklong hospital stay for pneumonia. The campaign against Chechnya has drawn heavy criticism from the United States and European nations for causing civilian casualties.

Arriving in Beijing, Yeltsin looked pale. Arm-in-arm with his wife, Naina, he leaned heavily on the rails of the stairs while leaving his plane.

Perhaps out of concern for his health, Yeltsin's meetings with Jiang, Premier Zhu Rongji and Li Peng took place within the secluded grounds of the state guest house, rather than in the Communist Party's leadership compound downtown. Yeltsin was to dine privately with Jiang at the compound.

Jiang, who studied car production in Moscow 44 years ago, greeted Yeltsin in Russian, calling him an ``old friend.'' The two leaders embraced in a bear hug before beginning their meetings.

Afterward, Jiang and Yeltsin watched as their foreign ministers signed three accords establishing the countries' 2,630-mile border and the joint use of disputed islands, ending a conflict that brought them to blows 30 years ago.

Yeltsin and Jiang began meeting annually in 1996 to draw the fierce Cold War rivals closer and build a strategic partnership. Both leaders have found their relationship a useful counterweight to Washington's predominance in world affairs, although Russia and China both need U.S. support for their economies.

Even Chinese leaders as American-leaning as Jiang worry that the United States wants to contain China's growing influence. With restive minorities in Tibet and the Muslim northwest, Chinese leaders saw NATO's assault on Yugoslavia over Kosovo, without U.N. permission, as a dangerous precedent.

Yeltsin and Jiang both agreed that there should not be ``one country dominating the world,'' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang said. ``World affairs should be determined by all countries in the world.''

Zhang reiterated today that China saw Chechnya as Russia's internal affair and she said that Russia ``has tried to avoid civilian losses.''

The Russian and Chinese leaders agreed to work against terrorism, religious extremism, separatism and cross-border crime -- ``the threats of the 21st century,'' Russian Foreign Minister Ivanov said.

The Russian and Chinese governments are expected to issue a joint statement committing both governments to the fight against separatism and terrorism before Yeltsin's return Friday to Moscow, Russian diplomats said.

For Yeltsin, who has been frequently sidelined by illness since his re-election in 1996, his China trip appeared aimed at showing he is still in charge.