Yeltsin Looks for Partners

MOSCOW: Russian President Boris Yeltsin said Monday he can win the upcoming election if he joins forces with rivals Alexander Lebed and Grigory Yavlinsky. "I have agreed with Lebed and Yavlinsky on their attitude toward coordinating our election campaigns," Yeltsin told reporters. The two are not quite as enthusiastic. Lebed told reporters that he was not yet prepared to renounce his candidacy after having worked so hard. Yavlinsky too is not straining at the bit to join the Yeltsin ticket. He has severely criticized the war in Chechnya, and might ask Yeltsin to dismiss the heads of Russia's military and security apparatus in return for his support. "There has been a lot of talk recently about various alliances," says TIME's Moscow Bureau Chief John Kohan. "Various groups are proposing coalitions to preserve stability in Russia, but most of them are simply pre-election manipulations. Yeltsin is trying to expand his power base. If he goes into the election with Yavlinsky against him, Yavlinsky may take votes away from Yeltsin's camp. This coalition building is just a lot of eyewash before the vote." -->