Ельцин Лебедь Коржаков YELTSIN MAKES STATEMENT OVER ALEXANDER LEBED SACKING

(17 Oct 1996) Eng/Russ/Nat In a live nationwide televised statement Thursday, Russian President Boris Yeltsin sacked his Security Chief Alexander Lebed. The announcement comes a day after Lebed faced accusations from the Interior Minister, backed by the Prime Minister, that he was secretly plotting a coup. From his sanatorium near Moscow, a grim-looking Boris Yeltsin addressed the nation with startling news. He faced a choice between admonishing the two most recent combatants in parliament - the Interior Minister Anatoly Kulikov and the Security Chief Alexander Lebed - or to put an end to the squabbling. He chose to dismiss Lebed. SOUNDBITE: (Russian) “It is not possible to stand such a situation. We should be a united team-- the team should be friends and work together. But now the situation is like in a playroom and Lebed picks his staff who are not coordinating with others and Lebed did things which weren’t agreed upon with the President -