Yeltsin emerges the winner

Both President Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin expressed their satisfaction Friday over the outcome of the Helsinki Summit. Five separate agreements were achieved: on European security, on future nuclear arms reductions, on antiballistic missiles, on a ban on chemical warfare, and on U.S.-Russian economic cooperation.

Russia did not explicitly oppose an invitation to Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic to attend the NATO meeting in Madrid, Spain, scheduled to be held in July, but insisted that any enlargement of NATO carry the agreement of the parliaments of each NATO member.

This would certainly impede the process since not every government within NATO has the support of their national parliaments in this matter. In addition, Russia would not accept the inclusion of any other countries into NATO beyond the three countries mentioned.

Since it needs a buffer along its border facing NATO, Russia has insisted on a NATO guarantee that the three Baltic countries -- Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia -- as well as Ukraine and Belarus would not become members of the western alliance.

The agreements on nuclear arms and antiballistic missile limitation are nothing new. Agreements on both have been signed by the two countries before. However, Russia is believed to possess more nuclear warheads at present than all the European NATO countries together, and perhaps even than the United States.

So it could be said that on the subject of nuclear arms, antiballistic missiles and a chemical warfare ban, Yeltsin has emerged the winner. On the issue of economic cooperation, Yeltsin also got what he wanted, which is loans from the U.S., the IMF and the World Bank. The U.S. will also endorse Russia's membership in the World Trade Organization, on condition that Russia continues to open itself to private foreign investment.

Overall, it is Yeltsin who has emerged the winner in Helsinki. But the question is, why was Bill Clinton so forthcoming? It seems that Clinton intends to strengthen Yeltsin's position in his own country. At present, Yeltsin is the only Russian leader in whom the West can put its trust. If Yeltsin doesn't get what he wants in Helsinki, his leadership at home might become shaky, and if Yeltsin is removed from his top leadership position in Russia, U.S.-Russian cooperation might not be as smooth as it is at present and new tensions might arise.

-- Suara Karya, Jakarta