Deputy Secretary Talbott met with Media Most Vice Chairman Igor Malashenko December 8. Malashenko reviewed the domestic political situation. He said Yeltsin would remain in office until 2000 at all costs, and suggested that Luzhkov had the best shot at succeeding him. He was positive on Yavlinskiy's strength, and saw him as a possible kingmaker and prime minister in 2000. He viewed the changes in the Presidential Administration darkly, particularly given the military counterintelligence backgrounds of key figures there and in Primakov's entourage. He said that the fate of FSB Director Putin, a Chubays protege, would be a litmus test of intentions on safeguarding civil liberties. Malashenko admitted Media Most and NTV had been severely weakened by the crisis. To buy time for the 18-24 months he estimated it would take the economy to recover, Gusinskiy was negotiating to sell a further 25 percent of the company to Gazprom.

Kohl and Major discuss the impact of the war in former Yugoslavia on the Muslim world, the European Community and domestic U.S. policy. Both agree that there was a window of opportunity for a settlement before the winter.

Kohl and Clinton review the state of NATO enlargement after the January 1994 NATO Summit in Brussels. They view NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) as the best solution to engage Russia and to reach out to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Both view the situation in Ukraine as a key factor in the search for Europe's post-Cold War order. "If anything happened in Ukraine, this would increase the pressure for the NATO accession of the Central and Eastern European countries," Clinton says.

Kohl and Clinton review the recently concluded trilateral agreement on Ukraine's denuclearization and Clinton's contacts with Yeltsin and Ukraine's President Kravchuk.

Kohl and Clinton discuss plans for NATO enlargement and the need to find a modus vivendi for an intermediate period as a way to balance Russia's engagement and the security interests of the Central and East European countries. Kohl has doubts over the feasibility of NATO enlargement but is willing to search for an intermediary solution.

During their first meeting, Kohl and Clinton examine the relevance of their joint support for Yeltsin and the need for more international financial aid for Russia agains the backdrop of the forthcoming Clinton-Yeltsin meeting in Vancouver in early April. Moreover, Kohl and Clinton discuss the relevance of intensified U.S.-German ties in the fields of culture, education and trade after the end of the Cold War.

Kohl and the Presidents from the three Baltic states have a shared concern about the slow withdrawal of "Soviet" troops in the region. Kohl is asked to put more pressure on Yeltsin. All three Presidents see security and troop withdrawals as an essential precondition for the success of economic reforms in their countries.

Bohl and Kozyrev talk through the potential proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons after the demise of the Soviet Union. Moreover, they consult on the reduction of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons.

Clinton and Kohl discuss the political and economic situation in Russia, negotiations with Ukraine over dismantling its nuclear stockpile, and other international issues.

Clinton and Kohl discuss the Uruguay Round of the GATT, the political and economic situation in Russia, and the upcoming meeting between Alija Izetbegović of Bosnia and Clinton.