Yeltsin grinned while Clinton cried.
The Russian president had just blurted out his unfiltered reaction to American
news reporting.
It was October, 1995. Clinton and Yeltsin had just spoken at the United Nations
50th anniversary meeting.
The next day the two presidents got together at Hyde Park, New York
for a bilateral meeting followed by a press conference.
It was then that Yeltsin told the media his take on his US visit. He
said that when he came here that October he did not have the degree of optimism
with which he was now departing. The bilateral meeting had apparently been
productive.
But then he dropped his brutal statement about our American press:
"Coming from my statement yesterday in the United Nations, and if you
looked at the press reports, one could see that what you were writing was that
today's meeting with President Bill Clinton was going to be a disaster. And now
for the first time I can tell you that you're a disaster."
That's what set off Clinton's
crying. But his tears were not for the press or over any danger or fear. They
were tears of laughter. Both presidents had a good laugh over Yeltsin's remarks
about our American news style. You can see the video in this AP archive: .ly/48u81Fb
Today, though, Clinton
would have nothing to laugh about given the present state of bilateral
relations.
Back at Hyde Park, Yeltsin had gone on, "...our partnership is not
calculated for one year or for five years, but for years and years to come -- tens
of years, for a century; that we're friends, and that it's only together,
together, [that] we're going to be trying to solve not only our joint bilateral
issues but issues affecting the whole world."
This was not the first time the new Russian and American friendship was
mutually proclaimed. That was made clear at the presidents' April 1993 Vancouver summit. A White
House press release that followed said, "President Bill Clinton of the United
States of America and President Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation
declared their firm commitment to a dynamic and effective US-Russian
partnership that strengthens international stability."
In a follow-up phone call now declassified, Clinton told Yeltsin, "I'm about to
issue a statement in support of your policies. I want you to know that we're in
this with you for the long haul. We made some significant progress in Vancouver and Tokyo.
We'll keep working here to be supportive. If there is anything I can do for you
here, please let me know."
It is quite obvious today, that that those past optimistic aspirations did not
stand the test of time. Today we find ourselves lavishly sponsoring Ukraine as it bombs Russia
and invades and occupies a small part of Russia's home territory.
Our actions were seemingly as support for the beleaguered Ukraine, a victim of a brutal
invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin in 2022. But any idea of friendship and
partnership with Russia
is long gone. Truth be known, it was even gone long before Russia's disastrous invasion of Ukraine.
And ironically, it was President Bill Clinton himself who set the US and Russia on a collision course.
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William Dunkerley is a media business analyst, international development and change strategist, and author of numerous books, monographs, and articles. He has been editor and publisher of media industry information, and has additional expertise (more...)
