Word: komplektov
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...young Jimmy Stewart, he favors jeans and sneakers, and his command of American political history is better than that of some people on Capitol Hill. Word is that Sergei Stankevich, 37, the deputy mayor of Moscow, may soon be appointed Soviet ambassador to the U.S., replacing coup-tainted Viktor Komplektov. Once a professor of American politics, Stankevich has put his knowledge of U.S. constitutional procedures to good use as an outspoken reformer in the Congress of People's Deputies and as a back- room tutor to Boris Yeltsin. Mikhail Gorbachev, who once regarded Stankevich as an irritant, may now view...
During Eduard Shevardnadze's tenure as Foreign Minister, Komplektov oversaw Latin American affairs. By design, he had little substantive power -- which was lucky for both superpowers since each knew that improving their relations generally required easing their rivalry in Central America...
...Komplektov's doctrinal rigidity was amply demonstrated on June 20, 1989, at the first and only Central America negotiating session he attended with Bush Administration representatives. For almost two hours, Komplektov did little but rehash old Soviet positions while lecturing Assistant Secretary of State Bernard Aronson about the sensibilities of small Latin nations condemned by geography to live in Washington's shadow. Key U.S. and Kremlin aides agree that the subsequent Soviet-American cooperation that resulted in Nicaragua's first free elections would never have been possible if Komplektov had controlled the talks that followed...
...Komplektov's posting to Washington an unambiguous bad omen? "It isn't good," admits a Soviet Foreign Ministry official. "If Gorbachev were in complete control, if he didn't have to worry about the conservatives' power, Komplektov probably would have been retired...
...offers a counterview. "The intelligence community still believes that ((Foreign Minister Alexander)) Bessmertnykh thinks like Shevardnadze, and that he is calling the important shots," says an aide to Secretary of State James Baker. "Their view is that Bessmertnykh has his own line of communication to Baker and that Komplektov's well-known tough views mean that he will be a figurehead ambassador only. The theory is that Bessmertnykh and Gorbachev have cleverly thrown a bone to the conservatives, and that Komplektov can do less damage in Washington than in the Foreign Ministry in Moscow...