Yeltsin Offers Clinton Plan to Be Full ‘Allies’ : Leaders: Russian president also proposes a summit immediately after the U.S. inauguration.

Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin on Thursday proposed a summit with President-elect Bill Clinton as soon as he is sworn in and sent him a sweeping, ambitious agenda to transform the former Cold War adversaries into full-fledged “allies.”

Moving rapidly to cement relations with a suddenly vital figure he barely knows, Yeltsin sent a message to the Arkansas Democrat that includes nothing less than “a new agenda for Russian-American cooperation in every area,” Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy A. Mamedov said.

In a telephone call to Little Rock, Ark., Yeltsin congratulated Clinton on his victory Tuesday, wished him luck and invited him to visit Moscow after his Jan. 20 inauguration, the Russian president’s press service announced. Until then, Yeltsin suggested the two leaders immediately exchange high-level envoys to establish better personal contacts and swap information about their plans, the press service said.

Yeltsin, said by Moscow diplomats to have strongly favored the reelection of President Bush, has met only once with Clinton--last June 18 in Washington when Clinton was already the likely Democratic Party nominee.

“We have some things in common,” Clinton said after his half-hour chat with Yeltsin. “You know, he had an interesting childhood, a pretty tough childhood, and his political obituary’s been written several times. The same thing’s happened to me. So I admire him a lot.”

Mamedov said the two men, in their earlier session, had established “immediate rapport. I was myself present at that meeting and can attest that the chemistry of human relations worked very well,” he told a Moscow news conference.

Although the average Russian has tended to link Bush and his Republican predecessor, former President Ronald Reagan, with the dramatically improved climate between Washington and Moscow, including U.S. government aid for Russian democratic reforms, specialists on America here are hailing Clinton’s election as the impetus for a truly new era.

“Clinton’s victory is a big event. This is not just the change of a person or of a party,” said Georgy A. Arbatov, director of the U.S.A.-Canada Institute, a Moscow think tank. “This is the end of the whole era of neoconservative rule in America that began with Reagan. Neoconservatism started losing steam some time ago, but this victory symbolizes the end of the period. The pendulum has now swung back.”

Unlike Bush, Clinton, 46, and his vice president-elect, Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee, 44, are “new politicians formed in the conditions of the post-Cold War period and may go further in the field of demilitarization, reduction of defense expenses, armaments and armed forces,” Arbatov said. “This will facilitate similar processes in Russia, since the key argument of the hard-liners here is that the Americans are not disarming enough.”

Lev L. Lyubimov, head of the U.S.A. Department at the Institute of World Economics and International Relations, said that, although Bush presided over the Cold War’s end and the demise of the Soviet Union, he seemed at a loss when it came to dealing with independent post-Soviet Russia. “The old agenda in our relations is exhausted,” Lyubimov said.

As for the Yeltsin entourage, there were several factors that apparently pushed them to take the first step in offering what Mamedov termed a “new agenda.” These included the possibilities that the Russians sensed in the Clinton-Gore team; the Russians’ own pressing domestic problems, and their acute memories of how Bush, when elected to the White House in 1988, called a four-month halt in U.S.-Soviet dealings while he formulated his policy toward the Kremlin.

In his telephone talk with Clinton, Yeltsin summarized his new vision for Russian-American relations by saying that two great nations should now become “not just partners, but allies,” the Itar-Tass news agency said in its report on the conversation.

There is a definite political danger for Yeltsin in being seen as too close to the West, and America in particular, as he faces a rising crescendo of criticism over the failures of his market-inspired reforms to better most Russians’ lives. Thursday’s developments show that Yeltsin is ready to face down that risk.

Russian officials are also conscious that Clinton was elected because Americans are concerned about their economy, not because of his vision of international relations. Better ties with Moscow, they were saying Thursday, are in America’s own selfish interest in the long run.

“In this country, we seek a victory for democratic reform,” Mamedov said. “It meets the national interests of America.”

Yeltsin’s Road Map for U.S.-Russian Relations

At a Moscow news conference on Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy A. Mamedov described some of the leadership proposals made by Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin to President-elect Bill Clinton in a telephone conversation. They include:

Projects for cooperation to help both Russia and the United States achieve “economic recovery”; these “first and foremost” efforts are said to include cooperation in converting former defense industries to civilian production and specific agreements on access to markets.

Continued efforts toward arms control--including formalizing the framework agreement reached by Yeltsin and President Bush last June to slash strategic nuclear warheads to 3,000-3,500 per country.

A complete end to nuclear testing and the rapid signing of an international ban on chemical weapons.

Specific measures to prevent proliferation of rockets and other “dangerous” military technology, a sore point in U.S.-Russian relations since Washington strenuously objected when Moscow announced the sale of diesel submarines to Iran and $200 million of booster rocket engines to India.

Political cooperation to protect human rights, including those of Russian minorities in the Baltics.

Coordinated action to achieve a Middle East peace settlement and to prevent violent conflicts in other regional hot spots, including the former republics of the Soviet Union that are now independent.

IMPACT ON OTHER KEY REGIONS

Bill Clinton’s victory means something different in every part of the world. Here is a sampling from four other key regions: Middle East: Bill Clinton’s strong support for Israel has been welcomed by Israel but is raising questions in the Arab world. The test may come over U.S. pledges to grant Israel $10 billion in loan guarantees to resettle Soviet Jews over the next five years.

Mexico: A Democratic Administration may initially cool relations with Mexico, but Mexicans are confident ties will smooth out in the long run. At stake is the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and the United States. The pact, which needs to be ratified by the legislatures of the three nations, is aimed at creating the world’s largest market. Clinton said he supports the agreement but has emphasized he plans to ask Mexico for stricter safeguards.

Europe: In Germany, Clinton is expected to cut the number of U.S. troops to as few as 75,000--half the Bush limit. The cuts will create hardships for many communities in Germany. Sparks will fly if Clinton also demands that Germany and other host countries pay sizable sums for a continued U.S. troop presence.

China: Clinton’s victory could push tottering Chinese-U.S. relations into a new phase of overt hostility. Clinton has called the Chinese leaders “tyrants” and may threaten to use blunt, high-pressure tactics.

Source: Times staff, wire reports