FROM the highest placed to the most ordinary citizen, Russia has reacted extremely positively to President Clinton's re election. But major differences between the two countries still exist, particularly over the eastward expansion of NATO.
With President Yeltsin still recuperating from his operation, his response was confined to a simple message of congratulations. Official comment was left mainly to Russia's Foreign Minister, Mr Yevgeny Primakov.
"Since the Russian government has amassed experience in dealing with the current US President, Russia is hoping that cooperation between the two states will broaden in the future", he said.
Mr Primakov was, however, quick to reaffirm his country's opposition to NATO's expansion eastwards towards its borders.
An unnamed senior diplomat quoted by the Interfax news agency was more forthcoming in his reaction, saying the transition in Russian American relations from "confrontation to maturity" was linked to the name of Bill Clinton. "Russia and the United States are organising their relations in such a way as to make them beneficial not only to each other but to the world community as a whole," the diplomat said.
On the streets of Moscow, the reaction to Mr Clinton's re election was unanimously positive. On Pushkin Square, Altina Usachova (51) said: "I remember Kennedy. He was a very sympathetic man. Clinton is like him. His election will be good for Russia because the way things are in our country, the less change the better."
Viktor Lipatov, who described himself as "a pensioner at 41" said his reaction was "very positive" - "We are all for peace. We want to live together in harmony. America helps us, but we don't want to become like America. We want to keep our own character, our own culture," he said.
Nearby in McDonalds, Olya and Nastya, two 15 year old girls, were surprisingly knowledgeable and mature in their assessment. "Russia is going through a difficult time. A change in leadership in America would not be good for us," Olya said.
The girls did, however, have one negative view of the US President. "He's very old," Olya said. Nastya nodded in agreement.
