YELTSIN TALKS TO TIME

In an interview with TIME editors to be published Monday,Russian President Boris Yeltsinsignals that he hashigh hopes for the May 9-10 Moscow summit with President Clinton, although many have already written the meeting off as pro forma. "The very fact that the President is coming for the 50th anniversary of our common victory (V-E Day) is eloquent proof of the profound changes that have taken place in Russian-American relations in a relatively short time -- just four years," Yeltsin said. "Having done away with confrontation, we have given our people a chance to live for the first time without fear of the threat of a nuclear war." Asked about thewar on Chechnya-- which he has unilaterally suspended till the summit's end -- the Russian leader was firm: "You should not forget that the Chechen people also fought during World War II. Almost every family has someone who was killed. So, Victory Day is still a holiday for them, although, perhaps, they are celebrating with tears in their eyes."