Yeltsin Sees Deal on Expansion of NATO

Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin said Sunday that he remains opposed to the expansion of NATO but predicted he will strike a compromise with President Clinton on the volatile issue when the two meet next month in Finland.

Declaring himself “fully recovered” from the ailments that have sidelined him since early last summer, Yeltsin chose the occasion of an important military holiday--the Day of the Defender of the Fatherland--to reassert his power and Russia’s position in international affairs.

“We must not allow confrontation between East and West during this period,” he said during a rare encounter with reporters. “It has already happened more than once that we failed to find a chance to make peace with each other. This opportunity should not be missed.”

Walking steadily, speaking clearly and appearing more vigorous than he has in many months, Yeltsin laid a wreath at Russia’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and answered reporters’ questions for the first time this year.

While opening the door to a compromise with Clinton, Yeltsin insisted that he has no intention of yielding in his opposition to the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Among the countries under consideration for membership in NATO are Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, all Russian allies under the previous Soviet regime.

“We are against NATO’s expansion to the east, in the direction of the borders of the Russian Federation,” Yeltsin said. “We are firm in our position. Our task now is to stall it as long as possible.”

By delaying a NATO decision to expand, Yeltsin said he hopes to “erode” the drive to add new members to the Western military alliance.

Nevertheless, Yeltsin said he will keep the commitment he made Friday to visiting Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to strive for some sort of agreement on NATO at the meeting in Helsinki, the Finnish capital, scheduled for March 20 and 21.

“We have agreed to look for a compromise,” he said, “and I think we will find this compromise at the summit we are holding with President Clinton.”

Yeltsin, declaring that his period of illness is over, said he lost 57 pounds as a result of his November heart bypass surgery and a subsequent bout with double pneumonia.

“You can now say my sickness has passed,” he said. “Now I just need to regain some of my strength. I am fully recovered. That’s it.”

Deflecting calls for his resignation, the 66-year-old president sought to demonstrate that he is back in charge--and suggested he may seek revenge against those who tried to oust him during his recuperation.

“I feel that my head is thinking well and clearly,” said Yeltsin, standing hatless in the freezing weather. “They should know I am a fighter and I remain a fighter. They shouldn’t attack me too hard because I can hit back.”

*

Later in the day, thousands of Communists and nationalists critical of Yeltsin marched through central Moscow in honor of the popular holiday, once known as Red Army Day. Many carried banners with such slogans as “Ban NATO” and “Yankee Go Home From Europe.”

In recent weeks, Yeltsin’s top defense officials have said the once-proud military is in such a state of disintegration that it could soon be unable to defend the country or maintain control of its nuclear arsenal.

Yeltsin, however, told reporters that the outlook is not so grim and that the government is beginning to pay soldiers their back wages and make other overdue payments.

“Some debts remain, but we will clear them,” he said. “Military servicemen should be optimistic.”

Until Sunday, Yeltsin had gone on public view only through infrequent, carefully staged television appearances that showed him meeting with foreign dignitaries or top aides. Even then, he sometimes looked like a doddering old man not entirely aware of his surroundings.

But throughout his 20-minute appearance at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the white-haired president appeared lively and in command of the issues confronting his presidency.

“I feel I am gaining in strength,” he told reporters. “I am through with ailments.”