DATE=4/26/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA-US (L)
NUMBER=2-261751
BYLINE=ART CHIMES
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:


INTRO:  Russia's Foreign Minister has been holding 
talks in Washington today (Wednesday) to push Moscow's 
opposition to any changes in the 1972 A-B-M anti-
missile treaty.  As we hear from V-O-A correspondent 
Art Chimes, the Russian diplomat emphasized the A-B-M 
treaty as a centerpiece of arms control.


TEXT:  The United States wants to modify the A-B-M 
treaty and build a limited system to defend against 
terrorists or rogue states. But Foreign Minister Igor 
Ivanov told reporters it would be a "fatal mistake" to 
change the treaty.

The A-B-M treaty was the main focus of Mr. Ivanov's 
talks with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.  He 
also discussed it with Republican presidential hopeful 
George W. Bush.

Mr. Ivanov also criticized Tuesday's action by the U-N 
Human Rights Commission, which condemned what it 
called Russia's "indiscriminate" use of force in 
Chechnya.  He said Russia's intervention in the 
breakaway republic was necessary because of lawless 
conditions there.  

            // IVANOV ACTUALITY (in Russian) //

What country, he asked -- including the United States 
-- would allow its territory to be occupied and 
controlled by bandits?

Foreign Minister Ivanov said the vote in the U-N Human 
Rights Commission was "evidently political," with 
support coming mainly from NATO members.  And he 
denied that the vote represented Russia's "isolation" 
as suggested Tuesday by State Department spokesman 
James Rubin.  Nevertheless, he admitted the human 
rights situation in Chechnya is not good.

            // IVANOV ACTUALITY (in Russian) //

I said it was very bad, and what we're dealing with, 
he said, is improving it.  He said international 
observers are visiting Chechnya, and Russia has formed 
its own commission to investigate reports of human 
rights abuses.

The U-N Human Rights Commission urged Russia to 
investigate alleged violations of human rights and 
bring the perpetrators to justice. (Signed)

NEB/ART/PT 



26-Apr-2000 16:42 PM EDT (26-Apr-2000 2042 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.