WASHINGTON -- President Bill Clinton telephoned Russian President Boris Yeltsin on Tuesday and came away fully in support of Yeltsin in his drastic moves to resolve the political impasse in Moscow.
Clinton, in a written statement, said: 'In a democracy, people should decide the issues that are at the heart of the political and stcial debate. President Yeltsin has made this choice, and I support him fully.
'I have confidence in the abiding wisdom of the Russian people to make the right decision regarding their own future,' Clinton said.
Yeltsin went on Russian television earlier in the day to announce that he was dissolving Parliament by executive order and would hold elections in December.
Russian officials informed their U.S. counterparts in advance of Yeltsin's preemptive move to disarm his political opponents.
'I called President Yeltsin this aftenoon to seek assurances that the difficult choices that he faces will be made in a way that ensures peace, stability and an open political process this autumn,' Clinton said.
'He told me that it is of the utmost importance that the elections he has called be organized and held on a democratic and free basis,' he said.
A senior Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymnity said Russian troops appeared to be remaining in their barracks and that the military situation was 'calm.'
'Sources here feel confident that the nuclear weapons are under proper control,' he said. 'There are no signs of movement by strategic or conventional forces.'
The official noted that the Russian Defense Ministry had issued a statement carried by the Russian news agency Itar-Tass saying the military will remain neutral in the political struggle.
Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev said earlier Tuesday that his troops would stand behind Yeltsin and maintain security over the capital. U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher said U.S. intelligence analysts saw no 'abnormal movements' of Russian troops.
He said maintaining support from the Russian military will be the key to Yeltsin pulling off what some consider an 'auto coup.'
Christopher said the administration was now more committed than ever to providing its $1.6 billion share of the $44 billion aid package the international community cobbled together last yeart for Russia.
He said he carried that message Tuesday afternoon to Capitol Hill.
'There is no question that President Yeltsin acted in response to a constitutional crisis that had reached a critical impasse and had paralyzed the political process,' Clinton said.
Clinton noted that from the beginning of his administration he had given 'full backing' to the reform movement under way in Russia.
'I remain convinced that the democratic reforms and the transition to a market economy hold the best hope for a better future for the people of Russia,' he said.
Although Russian officials had dropped hints to their U.S. counterparts in recent weeks, Christopher said, the administration had no firm evidence of Yeltsin's provocative action until Ambassador Thomas Pickering was informed in Moscow about one hour before the announcement.
'We had only and hour or st advance warning,' he said.
Yeltsin told a nationwide television audience Tuesday that dissolving Parliament was the 'only way to overcome the crisis' that has plagued the Russian government.
Before taking the presidential oath, Yeltsin's rival, Vice President Alexander Rhtskoi, said he heard that military units were moving toward Moscow.
After Rhtskoi took the oath, he ordered the power ministries -- defense, security and interior -- to strictly adhere to their oaths and the constitution.
There was an increased police presence on the streets and around key government facilities, and stme barricades were going up around the Russian Parliament building.
But no troop movements were detected in Moscow as the country plunged into its worst political crisis since the August 1991 Communist coup attempt.NEWLN: ccccqqe
