WASHINGTON : A First for Armenia

For the first time since his former Soviet republic gained its independence, President Levon Ter-Petrosyan will visit the United States, starting with a meeting with President Clinton at the White House today.

Clinton invited Ter-Petrosyan, according to an Administration official, to “congratulate him on the cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh,” the disputed Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan, and to discuss U.S. aid programs. In addition to his talks with Clinton, the Armenian president is scheduled to visit the Pentagon and talk with officials of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Before returning to Armenia, Ter-Petrosyan plans to visit Detroit, Boston and Los Angeles. Armenia declared its independence from Moscow in September, 1991, and became an independent state three months later when the U.S.S.R. disbanded.