Ambassador summoned to explain leaks while Zyuganov inspects space

RUSSIA'S foreign ministry has summoned the US ambassador, Mr Thomas Pickering, to express concern at leaks to the Washington Times about a deal which President Clinton is reported to have made with President Yeltsin. According to the report, Mr Clinton promised to help Mr Yeltsin's election campaign in return for the lifting of a ban on imports of US chicken products, many of which are processed by an Arkansas company that has been a financial backer of Mr Clinton.

And in a bizarre twist to the presidential campaign, the Communist leader, Mr Gennady Zyuganov, has suggested that the computer which will count the votes on June 16th is open to interference from outer space.

Foreign satellites were capable of changing the results on the computer, Mr Zyuganov said, calling for a vote in which ballot papers would be counted manually in the presence of the media and observers.

Mr Zyuganov is, according to the more reliable Russian polls, 10 percentage points ahead of Mr Yeltsin, but since an unpopular move by the communist led State Duma to declare the dissolution of the Soviet Union illegal his popularity may have diminished. A treaty signed in Moscow yesterday for closer integration between Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan is likely to boost President Yeltsin's popularity.

The concentration by the local media on Mr Yeltsin and Mr Zyuganov almost to the exclusion of other candidates may suit the Yeltsin camp in their strategy to portray a choice between democracy and communism.

But a poll conducted for CNN and the local English language newspaper, the Moscow Times, has indicated that Mr Yeltsin may have more difficulty that most people anticipated.

Under the Russian system a candidate must have more than 50 per cent of the votes to be elected in the first round on June 16th. Failing this a second round between the two leading first round vote getters will take place most probably on July 5th.

The CNN Moscow Times poll asked potential voters who they would vote for in the second round. In a contest between Mr Zvuganov and Mr Yeltsin the respondents gave Mr Zyuganov 37 per cent to Mr Yeltsin's 29 per cent, with 22 per cent saying they would not vote and 12 per cent undecided. In a run off between Mr Zyuganov and the only truly democratic candidate. Mr Grigory Yavlinsky, 35 per cent of respondents opted for Mr Yavlinsky, 33 per cent for Mr Zyoganov, 17 per cent would not vote and 15 per cent were undecided.

This corresponds with earlier, polls which have shown Mr Yavlinsky as the only candidate capable of beating the communists in a run off, but his lack of funds may ensure that he does not get into the vital second round.

Western politicians have virtually ignored Mr Yavlinsky and concentrated on supporting Mr Yeltsin, who strongly backs free market policies but is not strong on democracy and human rights.

The German Chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl, has long been a supporter of Mr Yeltsin's presidency." But the focus of Russian attention is currently on President Clinton and a document leaked by US officials to the Washington Times.

The document, the subject of an investigation by the US Justice Department, is believed to have been written by the Deputy Secretary of State, Mr Strobe Talbott, summarising a conversation between Presidents Clinton and

Yeltsin at a recent anti terrorist summit in Egypt.

According to the document, Mr Clinton promised to continue with "positive" policies towards Russia which would help Mr Yeltsin's campaign. The quid pro quo was the ending of a Russian ban on imports of US chicken. With the ban lifted, the "Egyptian deal" has been the focus of most Russian newspapers in recent days.

The first big set piece of the Yeltsin campaign takes place tomorrow when, in a televised address to the nation, the president will announce a plan to end the war in Chechnya.