C0NFIDENTI-M7 -eoNFmAt 6243 THE WHITE HOUSE WASH I NGTON MEMORANDUM OF TELEPHONE CONVERSATION SUBJECT Conversation with President Boris Yeltsin of Russia U PARTICIPANTS The President President Boris Yeltsin Interpreter Peter Afanasenko Notetakers Cindy Lawrence Steve Brennan Peter Huggins Ki Fort DATE TIME AND PLACE September 15 1996 11 04-11 13 a m Residence President Clinton Hello President Yeltsin Hello Bill Hello Boris U Greetings U President Clinton It's nice to hear your voice Hillary and I are thinking of you as you prepare for your surgery I hope Naina is doing well Thank you for the beautiful decanter set for my birthday U President Yeltsin Thank you Bill small misfortunes here with me ipi As you know there are some President Clinton I know I wanted to give you best wishes for your successful surgery and speedy recovery Our thoughts and prayers are with you I talked to Helmut and was glad to hear from him that you are brave and in good spirits Boris announcing your surgery was a bold strok it builds confidence But most important I wish you well President Yeltsin Thank you Bill I believe it would be a good idea if experts from the U S could come to consult for the operation p President Clinton We would like to help you with that We would be happy to help you in any way we can The whole world oGQ fflDENTIj Classified by Andrew D Sens Reason 1 5 b Declassify On 09 15 06 -eONFlDENTlAb DECLASSIFIED PER E 0 13526 0 0 5'0780 S z 'X Q S KtM GQNffflfflM COMriDENTI-fd - would like to help you I suppose we should know who to contact there if you want us to help with that ijt President Yeltsin On 26 and 27 September here in Moscow there will be a scientific conference on heart surgery Experts from all over the world including the U S will be coming I think that your specialists are here I would be willing to consult with them personally if you don't mind President Clinton I think that's a fine idea What I would like to do is to find out who is coming from the U S to make sure the best doctors are there to give you the widest possible choice President Yeltsin Bill Okay thank you President Clinton well as you So far I am ahead How are your elections I just hope I can do as President Yeltsin So this is not yet the finish line Let's just hope We all believe in you and I hope you and I will work together soon ijt President Clinton That is what I hope too We have a lot to do together I want you to know that during this period I have talked with Helmut and Jacques Chirac and we have agreed to do what we can to help you through to keep things on track during your hospital stay and do what we can to avoid creating problems for you President Yeltsin President wanted to we've got and I are Thank you Thank you Bill U Clinton I will let you go back to your rest I just let you know that we are thinking of you and make sure the best folks coming over to your conference Hillary saying our prayers for you and hoping for the best President Yeltsin Thank you Bill Please convey my greetings to Hillary We wish you every success in the election campaign We all want you to win President Clinton Okay I'll go to work on that getting better Bless you President Yeltsin Okay it is agreed Bill President Clinton Goodbye U End of Conversation OMFIDEMTIjft eetwtfflftt You work on Best wishes U This document is from the holdings of The 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