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WorldView

President Clinton's State of the Union Speech Will Emphasize Need for Stability in Russia and China

Aired January 27, 2000 - 6:06 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: In his speech, Mr. Clinton plans to emphasize the need for Russia and China to join the ranks of stable and prosperous democratic nations.

We begin our coverage with an overview. CNN's State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel reports on Mr. Clinton's remaining international policy challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am absolutely committed to seeing a comprehensive peace agreement.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mediating a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians and bridging the gaps with Syria and Lebanon would be the diplomatic equivalent of the triple crown for President Clinton, and as such, has rocketed to the top of the president's to-do list before he leaves office.

Other unresolved challenges: More than a year after the U.S. and Great Britain bombed Baghdad to force Iraq to accept United Nations weapons inspectors, Iraq's president is still defiant.

JOHN BOLTON, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: Saddam Hussein has essentially succeeded in his two major post-Gulf War objectives: breaking free of the weapons inspections system so he can pursue the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction.

KOPPEL: And almost a year after NATO's war with Yugoslavia, President Slobodan Milosevic is still in power, and U.S. and European troops are still in Kosovo: no exit date in sight.

After the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa, international terrorism has also emerged as a major and unpredictable threat to U.S. security. Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind, a wanted man, hiding out in Afghanistan.

Also uncertain: Russia's future -- with Boris Yeltsin gone, presidential elections two months away, and a war raging in Chechnya.

KOPPEL: U.S.-Russian relations will be the subject of Secretary Albright's trip to Moscow this weekend. As for President Clinton, his aides say he'll continue his push for peace in the Mideast at a weekend economic conference in Switzerland.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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