PRESIDENT Clinton yesterday said the US would do its utmost to stick to the timetable for Nato troop withdrawal from Bosnia, due at the end of this year.
Speaking after a 90 minute meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the German Chancellor, Dr Kohl, Mr Clinton said the indefinite presence of foreign peacekeepers could slow down reconstruction, and efforts to create conditions in which refugees could return to their homes. "We'll watch developments very closely, but I'm convinced we must work within this timetable," Mr Clinton said.
The two leaders concurred on the need to hold the peacekeeping operation in Bosnia to its one year timetable to keep the other aspects of the Dayton peace accord on course.
"One of the worst things that would happen is if we said that we were going to have an indefinite military presence there, as it would slow down all the other efforts " Mr Clinton said.
The two leaders met in the city hall of what President Clinton called "perhaps our most German American city".
Speaking before their meeting, the two welcomed the news that the rebel Chechen leader, Mr Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, had agreed to peace talks in Moscow with Mr Yeltsin.
"We would both be very pleased if that can be resolved and the president [Mr Yeltsin] could go back to devoting his energy to strengthening democracy and the economy of Russia," Mr Clinton said. "It's a very important issue also for the election," Dr Kohl said of the conflict in Chechnya.
Mr Clinton has so far been guarded about directly backing Mr Yeltsin against his main rival, the communist leader, Mr Gennady Zyuganov, but yesterday's comments during the press conference left little doubt.
Mr Clinton said the two agreed that enlargement of Nato was proceeding "in a clear and predictable way."
Mr Clinton and Dr Kohl also signed two aviation documents on safety and open skies agreements.