[Michael Holmes, World News:] United States president Bill Clinton is back in Washington after a week in Europe. Mr. Clinton accepted a peace prize in Germany but was told in Moscow a U.S. missile defense plan could re-ignite the nuclear arms race. On his last stop, Mr. Clinton chipped in to end another kind of nuclear worry. CNN's Major Garrett was there.
[Major Garrett, Cnn White House Correspondent:] President Clinton achieved a breakthrough on nuclear safety in Ukraine after wrestling unsuccessfully with key trade and national security disputes in Europe and Russia. Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma announced he will close the last of four reactors operating at Chernobyl by December 15. As Ukraine struggles to seal Chernobyl and update its nuclear power industry, Mr. Clinton offered new financial aid $78 million to help rebuild the concrete dome covering the damaged Chernobyl reactor, $2 million to increase safety at Ukraine's four other nuclear power plants and to push other G-7 nations for safety at Chernobyl. Earlier, Mr. Clinton became first American president to address the Russian Duma underscoring U.S. support for tax reform, an end to corruption and closer economic ties between the Europe and Russia. On ballistic missile defense, Mr. Clinton pushed again for a limited ballistic missile defense system and smaller nuclear arsenals.
[Bill Clinton, U.s. President:] If we can reach agreements about how we're going forward, then it is something we ought to take in good faith to the Chinese, to the Japanese, to others who are interested in this to try to make sure that this makes a safer world, not a more unstable world.
[Garrett:] The Russians remained unmoved. They prefer bigger cuts in nuclear stockpiles and no missile defense. But while new Russian president Vladimir Putin values close ties to Washington, ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky made it very clear he did not. [on camera]: The president returns from Europe and Russia with few big results. But administration officials stress that on all the big issues, trade in Europe and security in Russia, incremental progress is better than none at all and may yet yield results before Mr. Clinton leaves the world stage. Major Garrett, CNN, Kiev.