US Department of State Case NO M-2006-01499 Doc NO C17533698 Date 06 15 2016 Sat Oct 9 10 01 1 1993 0309943 SNIS COPY 14 OF 17 Page 02 OF 04 PTP7513 7 mum-rm woo- 75 f a EASE 01 STATE 309943 0904142 g fv Aw OINEO 8 01 Dun N01 SSIOIJ Eaton INExton pmon REAmon 3r SEE TOTAL COPIES 017 05 ORIGIN NODS-OO 3 9 5 INFO LOG-00 ADS-00 121 ORAETEO BY APPROVED BY 8541' NSC NITOE 0 ONEINEOE $4014- 0904162 33 0904132 OCT 93 ZFFS REVIEW AUTHORITY momma mane Marvin Russell TO ALL NATO POST comerm 1mm Senior Reviewer INFO ALI NORTH ATLANTIC COOPERATION COUNCIL PRIORITY WSTATE 30994 3 NOOIS OSVIENNA FOR OSOEL CSCE E 0 12356 DBCL OAOR TAGS NATO PEEL RS SUBJECT WSLATION OF YELTSIN LETTER ON NATO EXPANSION 6 I REF A STATE 288837 B STATE 306913 at 1 1 coma-ISM - ENTIRE Tax-TRANSMITTED AN INFORMAL TRANSLATION OF THE Ln SEPTEMBER 15 LETTER FROM YELTSIN TO CLINTON ON NATO A NEW TRANSLATION DONE BY THE OFFICE OF LANGUAGE SERVICES IS PROVIDED IN PARA 3 BELOW 1 NOTE NE HAVE CORRECTED TEE REFERENCE TO IROSSIAN-SERNAN IN THE FINAL PARAGRAPH AS CONTAINED IN THE ORIGINAL RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE TEXT To READ RUSSIAN-AMERICAN 3 AS REP AUTHORIZED USNATO TO DISTRIBUTE 0 I of RELEASE IN FULL l p 4 COPIES OF LETTER TO ALL NATO DELEGATIONS POSTS IN NATO CAPITALS MAY ALSO UPON REQUEST SHARE THE TEXT OF THE IN THE VERSION BELOW WITH THEIR HOST GOVERNNENTS NON-NATO POSTS SHOULD REFER TO THE DEPARTMENT ANY REQUESTS TO SHARE THE 4 BEGIN TEXT - SEPTEMBER 15 1993 - - THE mm NOSCON DEAR BILL IN THE WAKE OF OUR CANDID EXCHANGE OF OPINIONS ON CURRENT I INTERNATIONAL ISSUES I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE SOME INPRESSIONS GLEANED IN PARTICULAR FROM MY RECENT CONVERSATIONS WITH THE LEADERSHIPS OF POLAND THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND SLOVAKIA AT ISSUE IS THE RATHER EXPLICIT ASPIRATION OF THESE COUNTRIES AS WELL AS OF A NUMBER OF OTHER STATES OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE TO GET CLOSER TO NATO AND TO ACHIEVE INTEGRATION IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER INTO THE ALLIANCE NATURALLY WE EXPRESSED OUR APPRECIATION OF THE SOVEREIGN RIGHT OF ANY STATE TO CHOOSE HOW IT ENSURES ITS cubojo in H1 oldeV'F'r SLIL ave Ma STEAK UNCLASSIFIED S Department of State Case NO Doc NO 017533698 Date 0611512016 UNCLASSIFIED US Department of State Case No M-2006-01499 Doc No 017533698 Date 0611512016 Sat Oct 9 10 01 14 1993 0309543 SNIS COPY 14 OF 17 Page 03 OF 04 OWN SECURITY INCLUDING BY PARTICIPATION IN POLITICO- NILITARY ALLIANCES WE ARE ALSO THE BY NO MEANS NOSTALGIC SENTIHENTS OF THE EAST EUROPEANS TOWARD PAST WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE WARSAW PACT OVERALL THE INPRESSION IS THAT THEY DO HAVE GROUNDS FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF APPREHENSION ABOUT THEIR SECURITY AT THE SAME TIME I CANNOT HELP BUT EXPRESS OUR UNEASINESS AS WELL OVER THE FACT THAT THE DISCUSSION OF HOW NATO EIGHT EVOLVE IS CENTERING WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY ON THE SCENARIO OF QUANTITATIVE EXPANSION OF THE ALLIANCE BY ADDING EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES I TELL YOU PLAINLY THAT WE FAVOR A DIFFERENT APPROACH ONE THAT LEADS TO A TRULY PAN-EUROPEAN SECURITY SYSTEM AN APPROACH PREDICATED ON COLLECTIVE BUT NOT ON THE BASIS OF BLOC MEMBERSHIP ACTIONS TO PREVENT AND RESOLVE THE CRISES AND CONFLICTS THAT NOW HAVE EUROPE IN TUREJIL SECURITY MUST BE INDIVISIBLE AND MUST BE BASED ON PAN-EUROPEAN STRUCTURES THE PRIMARY THREAT TO EUROPE IS NOW POSED NOT BY BETWEEN EAST AND WEST BUT BY A NEW GENERATION OF INTER-ETHNIC CONFLICTS QUANTITATIVE EXPANSION OF NATO WILL HARDLY SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF HOW TO COUNTERACT THESE CONFLICTS EFFECTIVELY WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IS AUGNENT CRISIS PREVENTION mm PEACENAKING ON A FULLY CONTINENTAL SCALE WE UNDERSTAIE OF COURSE THAT ANY POSSIBLE INTEGRATION OF EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES INTO WILL NOT AUTONATICAILY LEAD TO THE ALLIANCE SOMEHOW TURNING AGAINST RUSSIA NATO IS NOT BEING VIEWED AS A BLOC IN OPPOSITION 'lO US BUT IT IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT HOW OUR PUBLIC OPINION NIGHT REACT TO SUCH A STEP NOT ONLY THE OPPOSITION BUT CIRCLES AS WELL WOULD NO DOUBT PERCEIVE THIS AS A SORT OF NSC-ISOLATION OF OUR COUNTRY IN DIAHETRIC TO ITS NATURAL ADMISSION INTO EURO-ATLANTIC ACE I ALSO WANT TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT THE SPIRIT OF THE TREATY ON THE FINAL SETTLEMENT WITH RESPECT GERMANY SIGNED IN SEPTEMBER 1990 ESPECIALLY ITS PROVISIONS THAT PROHIBIT THE DEPLOYMENT OF FOREIGN TROOPS WITHIN THE EASTERN LANDS OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY PRECIDDES THE OPTION OF EXPANDING THE NATO ZONE INTO THE EAST WE KNOW THAT PREPARATIONS ARE NOW UNDERWAY FOR A SPECIAL NATO SUMMIT MEETING WHICH INTENDS TO DISCUSS STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS FOR DEVEIDPHENT OF THE ALLIANCE AND ITS ROLE UNDER NEW CONDITIONS WE IN RUSSIA HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE SUMMIT BAKING CONSTRUCTIVE DECISIONS THAT BEFIT THE RADICAL CHANGES THAT HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD WE HOPE THAT JUST SUCH A PRUDENT UNHURRIED APPROACH WILL ALSO PREVAIL IN THE SELECTION OF NEW BEARINGS FOR AN POLICY IN GENERAL WE ADVOCATE THAT RELATIONS BETWEEN OUR COUNTRY AND NATO BE A FEW DEGREES WARNER THAN THOSE BETWEEN THE ALLIANCE AND EASTERN EUROPE RUSSIA-NATO RAPPROCHEHENT INCLUDING THROUGH COOPERATION IN THE AREA OF PEACENAJCING PROCEED AT A FASTER RATE IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO INVOLVE THE EAST EUROPEANS IN THIS PROCESS AS WELL IN THE LONG RUN IT SHOULD PROBABLY NOT BE RULED OUT THAT EVEN WE WOULD JOIN NATO BUT FOR THE TIME BEING THIS IS A THEORETICAL PROPOSITION TODAY I WOULD PARTNERS THAT WE REFLECT TOGETHER ON OPTIONS FOR SATISFYING THE EAST EUROPEANS IN THE AREA OF SECURITY FOR EXAHPLE WE WOULD BE PREPARED TOGETHER WITH NATO TO OFFER OFFICIAL SECURITY GUARANTEES TO THE EAST EUROPEAN STATES WITH AN ACCENT ON ENSURING SOVEREIGNTY TERRITORIAL UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No M-2006-01499 Doc No 017533698 Date 06 15 2016 UNCLASSIFIED U S Department Of State Case NO M-2006-01499 Doc NO C17533698 Date 0611512016 Sat Oct 9 10 01 14 1993 0309943 SKIS COPY 14 OF 17 Page 04 OF 04 INTEGRITY INVIOIABILITY OF FRONTIERS AND MINTEIIANCE OF PEACE IN THE REGION SUCH GUARANTEES COUID BE EMBODIED IN A POLITICAL STATEMENT OR A COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AND NATO NATURALLY WE ARE OPEN TO DISCUSSING OTHER PROPOSALS mm woum WELCOME INTENSIPICATION 0F DIALOGUE IN THIS RESPECT DURING THE PERIOD PRIOR TO ma UPCOMING 1mm SOME E mam-SIN END TEXT CHRISTOPHER tom UNCLASSIFIED U S Department of State Case No M-2006-01499 Doc No 017533698 Date 0611512016                     National Security Archive    Suite 701  Gelman Library  The George Washington University    2130 H Street  NW  Washington  D C  20037    Phone  202 994‐7000  Fax  202 994‐7005  nsarchiv@gwu edu