(30 Mar 1998) Russian/Eng/Nat
U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan had a busy day in the Russian capital on Monday, meeting with President Boris Yeltsin, Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov and addressing the nation's parliament.
Annan's talks with officials ranged from the Iraqi crisis to the Middle East peace process to the role of Russia in the United Nations.
During his talks with Annan, President Yeltsin hinted that he supported the plans of ousted Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin to run for president in the year 2000.
But not everyone welcomed Annan's visit, who bore the brunt of an angry diatribe from ultra-nationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, during a special session of the Russian parliament.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin gave a lukewarm endorsement today to Viktor Chernomyrdin's presidential bid in 2000 during a meeting with U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan.
Yeltsin, who is trying to get the Russian parliament to back Sergei Kiriyenko as his choice for Prime Minister, signalled his approval of Chernomyrdin but stopped short of anointing the former premier as his preferred successor.
He also denied Chernomyrdin's claims that he had himself chosen to resign.
SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
"When he said that he took the decision, that's not quite true. I decided to disband the government, but at the same time I was bearing in mind that he (Chernomyrdin) will run the Presidential campaign for the election in the year 2000."
SUPER CAPTION: Boris Yeltsin, Russian President
But, significantly, Yeltsin who has made contradictory statements about
his own political plans, seemed to indicate that he does not intend to run for a third term.
The Russian President reinforced his decision to appoint the young reformer Sergei Kiriyenko as Prime Minister, and said he expected the Duma to ratify his decision in a vote on Friday.
This comment followed criticism from Communist Party chief, Gennady Zyuganov, that Kiriyenko was too inexperienced for the job.
At a meeting with Annan, Yeltsin talked proudly of Russia's participation in the U-N Security Council and reflected on its role as negotiator in the recent Gulf crisis.
SOUNDBITE: (Russia)
"I was particularly impressed, of course, by how together we defused the Iraqi situation."
SUPER CAPTION: Boris Yeltsin, Russian President
The Middle East also featured in talks later on Monday between U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan and Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov.
Russia has praised Annan for breaking the deadlock by persuading Iraq to allow UN inspectors to continue work in Iraq.
And with the Iraqi crisis apparently subdued for the time being, Russia has turned to the Arab-Israeli peace process, stepping up its efforts to secure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon.
Annan expressed hopes that the problem would eventually be resolved.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The peace talks are in distress, there are difficulties, but we should not despair, we should not give up. Sooner or later we will have a break somewhere."
SUPER CAPTION: Kofi Annan, U-N Secretary General
To wind up his stay in Moscow, Annan visited the State Duma, the lawmaking house of Russia's parliament.
There he had talks with the Duma speaker, Gennady Seleznyov, and then addressed the lawmakers in the sessions hall.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"Russia's permanent membership of the Security Council has provided your nation with the unique role and responsibility throughout the history of the United Nations."
SUPER CAPTION: Kofi Annan, U-N Secretary-General
SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
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