U.S. Envoy Meets Soviet Press and Briefs Reporters in Russian
MOSCOW — U.S. Ambassador Jack Matlock broke new ground in the warmer relationship between Moscow and Washington today by holding a background briefing in Russian for Soviet reporters.
Fourteen journalists from major Soviet news organizations, including the Tass and Novosti agencies, attended the briefing in front of a log fire in a drawing room of the ambassador’s residence, Spaso House.
“We have not done anything like this before, because frankly we felt there was no point,†Matlock, on his third posting in the Soviet Union, told the reporters.
“In the past, we felt the Soviet press would in any case write only what the authorities wanted. Maybe we were wrong, but that is what we felt.
“We also felt that Soviet journalists were not ready to come to the U.S. Embassy, let alone to this residence. But even if this was the case in the past, it is not so now,†he added as the reporters sipped whiskey and soft drinks.
During the hourlong briefing, Matlock fielded questions on the arms policies of the Bush Administration and on the Middle East.
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