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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release December 5, 1996

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin to Meet in March

The President and President Yeltsin spoke by phone for about twenty minutes this morning. It was their first conversation since President Yeltsin's November heart bypass surgery. The President expressed his pleasure at President Yeltsin s continuing recovery. President Yeltsin congratulated the President on his re-election.

The two leaders agreed on the importance of their joint leadership in further strengthening the U.S.-Russian relationship and in dealing with a wide range of issues on the bilateral agenda. The President and President Yeltsin agreed to meet in March of next year; they further agreed that the next Gore-Chernomyrdin meeting in February will prepare for the March meeting.

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