Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said he agrees with the Bush administration's cautious approach to recognizing the independence of the Soviet Union's Baltic republics.
"I support the president's position that it is important to maintain the relationship with the crumbling union," Craig said Friday in an interview. "It's important to be open, but not jump to conclusions."The first-term senator said the United States should not advocate a total breakup of the Soviet Union. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are being recognized by a growing number of nations.
"We should be an advocate for what they decide as long as it includes representative government, maximum freedom and a market economy," Craig said.
President Bush has called for Soviet lawmakers to recognize Baltic independence and not "stand against the winds of the inevitable." White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said that if the Soviets don't grant independence by Monday, the United States will make its own move.
The Supreme Soviet legislature in Moscow said the question of Baltic independence would be discussed at next week's Congress of People's Deputies.
The 12-nation European Community already has granted recognition to the Baltics, as have dozens of other nations.
Craig said the United States should provide aid to meet the Soviet people's immediate basic needs. But in the long term, he's not convinced huge sums of money are the answer since the biggest tasks will be crafting the emerging union's political and economic institutions.
"In a lot of cases it takes people, not dollars," Craig said.
On Thursday, Rep. Richard Stallings, D-Idaho, said it was time for the Bush administration to stop waiting on the sidelines and back Baltic independence.