Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 30, 1990 TAG: 9003300936
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Bush sent a letter to the Soviet leader on Thursday. It was Bush's first effort at direct contact with the Soviet leader since tensions began escalating with the March 11 Lithuanian declaration of independence.
In the letter to Gorbachev, Bush "clearly stated his support and the American support for the aspirations of the Lithuanian people for self-determination," Fitzwater said.
"We have expressed our belief and our emphatic view that a resolution of this conflict lies in peaceful dialogue," Fitzwater said.
"The president's message to President Gorbachev simply reaffirmed our position as stated many times." Fitzwater said.
The spokesman said Bush's letter was sent "via diplomatic channels" Thursday evening.
"He wanted to be certain our position was understood," Fitzwater said.
Fitzwater also said that Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., had met with Bush in the White House on Thursday to report on the senator's trip to Moscow and meeting with Gorbachev. Kennedy's half-hour report to Bush on the trip "was a factor" in the president's decision to write a letter to Gorbachev, Fitzwater said.
Fitzwater said Bush's letter was delivered to officials at the Soviet Embassy in Washington, which it turn relayed it to Moscow.
It came a day after Fitzwater said Bush "simply feels that this is not the time" for direct contact with the Soviet leader.
Today, the spokesman said, "I was not aware of any intent to do it" on Thursday morning but that Bush "decided to do it and just did it."
"The president felt that last night was the right time to send a personal, written message that clearly laid out our position," Fitzwater said.
Fitzwater said he was not sure whether the letter was actually handwritten by Bush or typed. "From our standpoint, that's not relevant," Fitzwater said.
"A message from the president is a message from the president, whether it's typed, written, phone-called, whatever," he said.
The Bush administration had treaded carefully on the Lithuanian subject, voicing support for the self-determination rights of citizens of the rebellious Baltic republic while urging restraint on both sides.
The United States has never recognized the 1940 forced incorporation of Lithuania into the Soviet Union. But, neither has it extended formal diplomatic recognition to the secessionist state.
Fitzwater declined to give details of Bush's message to Gorbachev, other than to say that it reiterated and summed up U.S. policy.
Fitzwater said that an "accumulation of information and feedback" had prompted the president "to feel that this was the time for a personal message that used his words and that President Gorbachev knew came directly from him."
Fitzwater said this "feedback" included Bush's meeting with Kennedy, his phone call on Wednesday to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and contacts between Secretary of State James Baker and his Soviet counterpart, Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze.
Administration officials have repeated cautioned that use of force by Moscow in blocking Lithuanian independence would backfire and could damage U.S.-Soviet relations.
But Bush has come under pressure from some members of Congress for not being more aggressive in complaining about Soviet actions in the breakaway republic.
While acknowledging the criticism, Fitzwater today said, "We believe our supporters far outnumber our critics on this issue."
On recent developments in Lithuania, Fitzwater said: "We have not seen too many episodes the last few days that have been very dramatic. But the problem is not resolved. They're still searching for solutions. And we hope that can be worked out."
Fitzwater said Bush welcomed Kennedy's firsthand report, even though generally speaking "we never feel that great about senators doing their own foreign policy."
The spokesman said that no attempts had been made to contact directly the rebellious Lithuanian leaders, citing the lack of any formal ties with the Vilnius government.
However, he said that contact with Lithuanian leaders by some U.S. citizens and U.S.-Lithuanian groups here had been generally helpful in indirectly getting across U.S. policy views to Lithuanians.
by CNB