State Department spokesman says Russocentrism was biggest mistake (07/28/96)

State Department spokesman says Russocentrism was biggest mistake

by Yaro Bihun

WASHINGTON - State Department Spokesman Nicholas Burns said the biggest mistake of the Bush and Clinton administrations with respect to the new independent states of the former Soviet Union was in remaining Russocentric for too long to the detriment of developing important relationships with Ukraine and the other republics.

Another, related mistake was in being too slow in marshaling the resources necessary for building strong ties with the new countries of that region, he said.

Mr. Burns' frank admission came during a discussion of U.S. policy toward Russia, Ukraine and the NIS at a U.S. foreign policy "town meeting" for regional media. The daylong affair, which included presentations by Secretary of State Warren Christopher and other key State Department officials on various aspects of U.S. foreign policy, took place on July 18 at the State Department.

Before becoming State Department spokesman, Nicholas Burns, a career foreign service officer, dealt with Soviet and NIS affairs for five years on the National Security Council under the Bush and Clinton administrations.

The Clinton administration has been "up front" about its initial failure, Mr. Burns said.

"We have said that probably in 1993 we should have spent more time talking to the Ukrainian leadership, putting more emphasis and more money into our relationship with Ukraine," he told the gathering of journalists.

But the administration of President Bill Clinton was able to reverse its policy, he added. "In late 1993 Ukraine became a focus of our policy. We negotiated a trilateral statement that led to the withdrawal of nuclear weapons. Ukraine is now the leading recipient of U.S. assistance - and not Russia - in that region. And I think there has been a consensus by Congress and the Clinton administration that that's the right policy."

"I wish we had come to that in the Bush administration; and I wish we had come to that sooner in this administration," Mr. Burns said.

Mr. Burns does not downplay President George Bush's accomplishments in molding a constructive and long-lasting relationship with Russia, however.

"President Bush deserves credit for having engineered, I think, a relationship with Russia in 1991-1992 that began these changes. President Clinton, I believe, deserves even more, an enormous amount of credit - and again, I say this as a foreign service officer who has served both of them in the White House - for having taken this relationship and having made it his No. 1 foreign policy priority."

Mr. Burns pointed out that President Clinton has had 10 summit meetings with Russia's President Yeltsin, four summits with Ukrainian presidents as well as numerous meetings with the leaders of the other former Soviet republics.

"I think that all of us who think about these issues should understand that we have already accomplished quite a lot because of the policies of the last two administrations," he said.

U.S. relations with Russia, however, are paramount in that region, Mr. Burns said.

In the foreign policy debate about future U.S. relations with Russia, Mr. Burns said, there are those - like former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and President Carter's National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski - who recommend a policy of containment.

"President Clinton has an entirely opposite approach," he added. "We cannot ignore Russia, and we cannot contain it successfully." It is "a reality" that must be respected - it stretches across 11 time zones and still has the capacity to destroy the United States, he said.

The recent presidential elections there were of landmark importance on Russia's road to democracy and in the continuation of its reform effort, he said. A Communist victory would have been a "disaster" both for Russia and for its relations with the United States.

After President Boris Yeltsin's victory, he added, "I think that we are in good shape in this relationship, because we have a partner with which we can work."

Mr. Yeltsin's government, Nicholas Burns stressed, is fundamentally different from previous Soviet governments in one respect: "It's legitimate." Mr. Yeltsin is the first elected leader of the Russian people "since Kyivan Rus', in a thousand years of Russian history," [sic] he said.

Mr. Burns said that while Russia must remain the "No. 1 preoccupation" of the United States, "we would make a very foolish mistake indeed if we allowed ourselves to be Russocentric in how we look at our policy and our opportunities there."

"Ukraine is a pivotal state that requires an independent relationship, which I believe we have. And oddly enough - surprisingly enough after everything I've said about engaging with Russia - we are actually going to spend more money to promote economic reform in Ukraine this year than we are in Russia, because the stakes are so high," he noted.

As did his key deputies in their appearances before the journalistic group, Secretary of State Christopher underscored the dangers to U.S. interests around the world in cutting back the U.S. foreign relations budget, which has been the tendency in the current Congress.

To protects its varied interests, the United States must maintain its international commitments and leadership role, Secretary Christopher said. But it cannot do it without adequate budget resources, he added.

"Rhetoric without resources simply reflects weakness and not strength," he said.

| Home Page |