On the recordJune 20, 1991
President Boris Yeltsin of the Republic of Russia June 20, 1991 President Bush. Well, I'm very pleased to welcome to the White House the newly-elected President of the Russian Republic, Boris Yeltsin. And I want to publicly congratulate President Yeltsin on a truly historic victory in this election last week which made him the first democratically elected leader in the long and rich 1,000-year history of Russia. And to put it in American terms, he won by a landslide. We will be interested in his views on the critical issues confronting the U.S.S.R. and its place in the world: the attempt that we're following from afar to forge a new union treaty, this historic effort to transform the Soviet economy, the imperative of freedom for the Baltic peoples, and of course, continued good relations with the United States and the West. We have been heartened and encouraged by President Yeltsin's commitment to democratic values and free-market principles, and we look forward to working with him. But at the same time--I want to be very clear about this--the United States will continue to maintain the closest possible official relationship with the Soviet Government of President Gorbachev. Indeed, in just the few minutes we've had inside, President Yeltsin has told me that he and President Gorbachev are in very close contact and working cooperatively together to achieve these ends. He knows that I have great respect for President Gorbachev, as I do for him.…
Source
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