President of the Russian Republic

On a four day visit to Washington and New York, Boris Yeltsin, recently-elected leader of the Russian Republic, visited with President Bush in the White House and with members of Congress on Capitol Hill. In his remarks, President Yeltsin said the U.S. should not place all its faith in Mikhail Gorbachev, president of the Soviet Union, because no single person can save the Soviet Union. He said that while his differences with President Gorbachev were only political and no hostility existed between them, he would never advocate, as he indicated President Gorbachev has, "slow, half-hearted change." President Yeltsin delivered his remarks in Russian, which were translated into English by an interpreter. Following his prepared remarks, he took questions from audience.