(9 Feb 1998) Natural Sound
Russian President Boris Yeltsin arrived on Monday for a three-day state visit to Italy and a meeting with Pope John Paul the Second at the Vatican.
He plans to meet with Italian business leaders and witness the signing of a 100 - (m) million U-S dollar contract with an Italian appliance manufacturer.
On the political front, Yeltsin is expected to air his unhappiness with U-S threats to attack Iraq, given Russia's unyielding efforts to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis.
Amid high security President Boris Yeltsin arrived in Italy on Monday at the start of a three-day state visit.
Accompanied by his wife Naina and Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov, Yeltsin landed at Rome's Fiumicino Airport.
During his visit he will be encouraging trade between the two countries and will attend the signing of a 100- (m) million U-S dollar contract with an Italian manufacturer.
The Russian president will be meeting with Italian leaders, with whom he is certain to discuss Iraq.
Along with France and most Middle East countries, Russia is vehemently opposed to the use of military force as a way of ending the U-N - Iraq crisis.
Yeltsin's displeasure with the United States is no secret, and only last week he accused President Clinton of being too aggressive, claiming an attack on Iraq could provoke a "world war."
Historically Russia has firm economic and political ties with Iraq, and in recent years has frequently served as an intermediary between Saddam Hussein and the West.
With U-N sanctions against Iraq lifted, Russia could take greater advantage of the lucrative contracts to rebuild Iraq's neglected oil industry.
Relations between the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox church have been poor for some time and it is expected the subject will arise when Yeltsin meets Pope John Paul on Tuesday afternoon.
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