Big Boost in Aid to Russia Sought; ‘in U.S. Interests,’ Christopher Says

WASHINGTON —  Secretary of State Warren Christopher said Sunday that the Clinton Administration will ask Congress to nearly double U.S. direct aid to Russia and said spending the money now would be less expensive than defending against a hostile regime in Moscow later.

Asked about Administration budget documents that suggest a rise to $700 million in aid from the current $417 million, Christopher said he hoped Congress would support the request despite the pain of cutting spending on other programs.

“I think it’s really in our interests,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“You know, we spent . . . more than a trillion dollars to contain the Soviet Union,” he said. “It would be very foolish and short-sighted for us now if we didn’t spend a much smaller amount, a very small fraction of that, in order to promote democracy. . . . If that’s reversed in Russia, we’ll find ourselves back spending a lot more in armaments than we’d spend to support them.”

Christopher also said the Administration has no objection to Russia increasing its worldwide arms sales, as long as the weapons are conventional and the buyers are not hostile countries like Iran or Libya. The Russian government of President Boris N. Yeltsin has been seeking to increase its arms exports as a way to earn hard currency.