NO AGREEMENT ON KEY ISSUES.

After four hours of meetings May 10, Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin failed to make serious progress on the three key issues under discussion: Moscow’s plans to sell nuclear equipment to Iran, NATO expansion, and the war in Chechnya. Yeltsin did say that Moscow would not sell the nuclear centrifuge to Iran and would now sign the Partnership for Peace agreement, two steps Clinton praised. And the presidents added that the two sides had resolved differences over anti-ballistic missile defense but without giving any details. In their statements during a 40-minute press conference, however, the two presidents sought to put the best face on what had clearly been a difficult meeting. Yeltsin said that he and Clinton had agreed to increase economic cooperation and would continue to discuss NATO enlargement. Clinton, on the other hand, indicated how little had been achieved by sticking to general terms, arguing that the meeting had “advanced security interests” and was part of a “regular, disciplined dialogue.”

Dividing A Little On Chechnya.