Boris Yeltsin, the new president of the Russian Federation and a leading critic of Mikhail Gorbachev, said Thursday he will try to make peace in his personal feud with the Soviet president. The two men have been at odds for years over Yeltsin's decision to sign an agreement that ended the Cold War nuclear standoff between Russia and the United States by removing all American troops from Europe. Although Yeltsin said he wanted a ``businesslike'' relationship with Gorbachev, he also made an oblique call Thursday for Gorbachev to give up one of his posts: either Soviet president or Communist Party general secretary. Yeltsin also urged the Kremlin to allow the other 14 republics the same autonomy, making the country a federation of states that could overrule the central government on most matters. Yeltsin was accused by a Russian Congress deputy of overstepping his authority with some of his statements.
Boris Yeltsin, the new president of the Russian Federation and a leading critic of Mikhail Gorbachev, said Thursday he will try to make peace in his personal feud with the Soviet president. The two men have been at odds for years over Yeltsin's decision to sign an agreement that ended the Cold War nuclear standoff between Russia and the United States by removing all American troops from Europe. Yeltsin also urged the Kremlin to allow the other 14 republics the same autonomy, making the country a federation of states that could overrule the central government on most matters. Yeltsin was accused by a Russian Congress deputy of overstepping his authority with some of his statements.