Vanderbilt Television News Archive

(Studio: Tom Brokaw) Report introduced.

(Moscow: Jim Maceda) Aftermath of this weekend's signing of an agreement by Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Ukraine President Leonid Kravchuk, and Byelorussian leader Stanislav Shushkevich to form a commonwealth of independent states featured; scenes shown; Yeltsin shown going into his meeting today with President Mikhail Gorbachev. [On Soviet TV, ANNOUNCER - (thru translator) reads Gorbachev's response to the commonwealth agreement.] [Center for Political Studies Lilya SHEVTSOVA - says Gorbachev is politically dead.] Map shown; plans by the commonwealth to make Minsk, Byelorussia, its capital, to create a market economy, joint bank and currency, and one foreign policy noted. [Russian foreign minister Andrei KOZYREV - comments on control of nuclear weapons.] [Kazakhstan President Nursultan NAZARBAYEV - (thru translator) questions creation of unions.]

(Studio: Tom Brokaw) Report introduced.

(White House: John Cochran) White House reaction to the Soviet breakup featured. Yeltsin reported assuring President Bush yesterday that the Soviet nuclear weapons will be kept under a single command. [State Department Margaret TUTWILER - states policy on nuclear weapons control.] United States worries that individual republics or the Soviet military will gain control of nuclear weapons noted. [Soviet affairs specialist Helmut SONNENFELDT - comments on United States leverage.] [At White House Christmas tree, Barbara BUSH - praises Gorbachev.]

(Studio: Tom Brokaw) Interview held with Soviet analysts "Foreign Affairs Quarterly" William Hyland and USA-Canada Institution Andrei Kortunov. [HYLAND - says commonwealth is good news; comments on United States aid, Gorbachev's role.] [KORTUNOV - comments on how Soviet military will respond, importance of United States aid, Gorbachev's role.]