Bill Clinton: “Well, first, let me say that Mr. Primakov is coming here at an important time. And I have urged all of us in the…”

“Well, first, let me say that Mr. Primakov is coming here at an important time. And I have urged all of us in the administration, our economic team and our political team, to be acutely aware of the fact that the first thing he had to do was to try to stabilize his own situation when he took office. In terms of the economic reforms that he needs to pursue, he needs some help from the Duma. And I would be a poor person to be unsympathetic with a man who is having trouble getting a certain proposal through a Congress. But I think it is important, if we are going to help Russia--and we should; we should do everything we can--that we do things that are actually likely to make a difference, instead of things that will undermine confidence over the long run in Russia and in the ability of others to invest there. So I'm hoping we can reach an agreement which will permit the IMF program to go forward, because I think that is important. But it will only work if the money doesn't turn around and leave the country as soon as it's put in. In other words, that's what--what we have to persuade the Russians of is that we're not trying to impose some economic theory on them, we're not trying to impose more--I don't mean just we, the United States; I mean we, the international financial institutions, of which the United States is a part--and that we want to see the back wages paid. We want to see the standard of living of the Russian people rise. We want to see more investment go in there. But there have got to be some changes, some of which require legislative action in the Duma in order for this to work. Otherwise, even if we put the money in, it will leave. And so that's what we're working on. And I'm hopeful that we'll also get a resolution of the second issue you mentioned, and I'm optimistic about that.”