Television and radio stations should pay less attention to US president Bill Clinton's domestic troubles and more to the collapse of the Russian economy, the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said yesterday. In a statement, Mr Bruton said Europe should deliver a Marshall aid-type plan to rescue Russia from political and economic chaos.

"The problems in Russia are far too serious to be sidelined," Mr Bruton said. "Here we see the collapse of a currency. But we also see the potential collapse of a political system, because, without an accepted currency, there is no basis for tax collection." The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank did not have the capacity to rescue Russia, he added. But the European Union did.