Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: 2 senators suggest Russia get U.S. aid to resettle soldiers Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 14:12:10 EST Message-ID: Lines: 96 \SE A;WORLD \HD 2 senators suggest Russia get U.S. aid to resettle soldiers \BY Gerald Nadler \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES \DT MOSCOW MOSCOW - U.S. Sens. Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar proposed yesterday that the United States take a leading role in helping provide housing for Russian troops withdrawing from the newly independent Baltic republics. At the same time, President Boris Yeltsin warned the country's top generals that "the disintegration of the once strong martial spirit in some military units . . . poses a threat to Russian society and especially the army." He said army officers in the Baltic states were getting involved in smuggling valuables out of Russia, calling their actions "disgraceful." Other servicemen were fighting as volunteers in the Caucasus, he said. Mr. Yeltsin said the theft of weapons, ammunition and other materiel was out of control, especially in the former Soviet republics that became independent after the demise of the Soviet Union last December. Mr. Nunn, the Georgia Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Mr. Lugar of Indiana, the No. 2 Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said at a news conference that the United States has a role to play in assuring an orderly Russian pullout from the Baltics by encouraging private investment for housing. The two senators directly addressed the Kremlin's contention that the lack of housing in Russia for the 130,000 soldiers to be withdrawn is holding up agreements with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on pullout dates. "It is in the Western interest to try to assist in this housing problem. I think it is an acute problem for their [Russia's] military," Mr. Nunn said. "And I hope that the United States can play a role along with other countries to help address this problem - hopefully through the private-enterprise system with investment, but certainly with government facilitation." Mr. Lugar said he found that many enlisted men are already leaving Estonia and Latvia when their enlistment terms end, raising the possibility of chaos. "The real problem for Estonia and Latvia is an irregular withdrawal in which there is never a negotiated phase with responsibility for the collection of military equipment or environmental cleanup, but suddenly the situation disintegrates," Mr. Lugar said. Mr. Lugar said he would recommend that the United States help "in a technical way" with housing for the returning soldiers. "There has been no commitment, but at the same time, we understand that . . . we ought to be involved in that leadership," Mr. Lugar said. The two senators were winding up a seven-day visit to the former Soviet Union after stops in the four republics that have nuclear weapons - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. They sought assurances that strategic nuclear weapons listed for demolition under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) will be destroyed. In addition, Mr. Lugar visited Estonia and Latvia. Mr. Yeltsin delivered his stark message to the Russian leadership on the six-month "anniversary" of the founding of the Russian army out of the remains of the the bulk of the former Soviet armed forces, estimated at 5.42 million men in 1984. "We do not need such a big army," Mr. Yeltsin said, adding that the army should be reduced by 200,000 in 1992 through reorganization. He said the fate of the army and society are intertwined. With Defense Minister Pavel Grachev at his side, the president asked for a concise report on how the reform of the army was going. He said the pace of the reform was being slowed by "the vestiges of the traditions of a draft-based serf army." It was a stern message from Mr. Yeltsin, who faces a biannual meeting next week of an unfriendly Congress of People's Deputies. Its tone indicated Mr. Yeltsin is confident of the army's support. Hard-liners in the standing parliament have let it be known that the larger Congress will try to strip Mr. Yeltsin of his powers to issue decrees and to name his Cabinet. The twin powers run out on Dec. 1. At the same time, Mr. Yeltsin increased the arms budget by 10 percent in a concession to the powerful generals and admirals. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM