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Clinton keeps eye on Russia
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August 27, 1998: 1:05 p.m. ET
White House upset with decisions that led to ruble slide; meetings continue
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WASHINGTON (CNNfn) - Clinton administration officials are anxiously watching Russia's government as it deals with a deepening economic crisis and are disappointed with decisions in recent days that have led to a slide in the ruble and turmoil in Russian and international markets.
As President Clinton prepares for next week's US-Russia summit, administration officials are meeting several times a day to assess the political and economic situation in Moscow.
Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin is participating in many of those conference calls from Alaska, where he is on a fishing vacation. Officials from Treasury, the National Security Council, the National Economic Council and others are taking part in the discussions.
One senior administration official involved in the discussions described the situation as "pretty ugly" and said "we are seeing bad decisions followed by bad decisions."
This official said there were no prospects for another Western economic aid package.
As for the president's trip, this official said, "It's clear no good will happen there in the short term. So the president has to speak more broadly than perhaps we would like. In a way we are not even sure who we are talking to, who is going to be making the key decisions. So it makes things very difficult in terms of crafting a message for the president."
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