Clinton huddles with European leaders for talks on arms and trade
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LISBON, Portugal -- U.S. President Bill Clinton opened talks with European leaders Wednesday after receiving word that Russia remains opposed to allowing the United States to deploy a national missile defense system.
Clinton's talks with Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres and European Commission President Romano Prodi are focused on the health crisis in the developing world but they are likely to also address the U.S. proposal for a national missile defense system.
Clinton, who will go to Moscow on Saturday, was briefed on Russian President Vladimir Putin's views Tuesday by Guterres, who returned Monday from talks with the Russian president and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.
Putin has not softened his opposition to changing the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to allow the United States to deploy a national missile defense system, Guterres told Clinton.
"We have a few stormy waters still to navigate," Clinton said as he opened his week-long European journey.
A communique being prepared for the end of Wednesday's meeting was to highlight new joint U.S.-EU pledges to combat AIDS and other infectious diseases, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, several U.S. officials familiar with the session tells CNN.
Russia is not alone in its concern about America's proposed defense system. European allies fear it could divide NATO and prompt Russia and China to bolster their nuclear arsenals. Clinton is to decide before the November elections whether to deploy the missile shield.
Guterres said Putin spoke "in a very frank and open manner" about everything from missile defenses to the war in the rebellious Russian republic of Chechyna, U.S. officials said. But they said there was no change in Russia's oft-stated opposition to U.S. missile defenses.
Besides discussing health issues, officials also tackled trade issues. The United States is trying to force the European Union to comply with World Trade Organization rulings and remove barriers to the import of bananas from American companies and U.S. beef grown with hormones.
Meeting Wednesday, Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Commerce Secretary Bill Daley and Charlene Barshefsky, the special trade representative, met with top EU officials to take stock of a healthy $1-billion-a-day transatlantic relationship that is, however, marred by spats over trade in bananas, beef and genetically modified foodstuffs.
The latest trade dispute centers on a tax break for American exporters -- worth some $3.5 billion a year. The World Trade Organization views that perk as unfair and the 15-nation EU accuses the Clinton administration of foot-dragging in dropping the 15 percent tax break that benefits 6,000 exporters including such giants as Boeing, General Motors and Microsoft.
Clinton was the first U.S. president to visit Portugal since Ronald Reagan in 1985. The trip was intended to celebrate Portugal's transition to democracy 26 years ago and its emergence as a prosperous country.
From Lisbon, Clinton will travel to Berlin for informal talks with more than 15 world leaders. The president set aside time for a meeting Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who skipped a planned visit to Washington two weeks ago after violence in Palestinian-controlled lands and heavy fighting in south Lebanon.
"Both the president and the prime minister believe it is important for them to meet at this time to discuss prospects for reaching an Israeli-Palestinian framework agreement ... and assess the situation following Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon," presidential spokesman Joe Lockhart said.
Toasting Clinton at a state dinner Tuesday, Sampaio hailed the U.S.-led NATO alliance as the "indispensable guarantor of European security." Clinton celebrated two centuries of good relations with Portugal. "Today we are proud to stand with you as partners, allies and friends," Clinton said.
In Berlin, Clinton is expected to meet privately Friday with former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, whose reputation has been tarnished by his admission that he accepted $1 million in secret campaign donations in the early 1990s. Clinton also plans to pay a courtesy call in Moscow Monday on former Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
