July 31, 1997, Seattle Times - AP, Senate Approves Diplomatic Postings,

July 31, 1997, Seattle Times - AP, Senate Approves Diplomatic Postings,

WASHINGTON - Dozens of diplomats, including the next ambassadors to Britain, France, Russia and Germany, were confirmed by the Senate in its final act before leaving for vacation.

Approved yesterday were Phil Lader, a longtime friend of President Clinton, to be envoy to Britain, and New York banker Felix Rohatyn to be the new ambassador to France.

Rohatyn takes the post left vacant when Ambassador Pamela Harriman died in February.

James Collins, a career diplomat, was confirmed as the next ambassador to Russia. Now ambassador-at-large for the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, he succeeds Thomas Pickering, who is returning to the State Department.

Stephen Sestanovich, who was nominated to succeed Collins as ambassador-at-large, was one of the few pending State Department nominees not confirmed. No reason was given for the delay.

John Kornblum, the former assistant secretary for European and Canadian affairs, was confirmed as the new ambassador to Germany.

The ambassadorships to Belarus, Lithuania, Guyana, the Kyrgyz Republic and Bosnia were also filled.

Meanwhile, Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., continued to refuse to meet with William Weld, the nominee for ambassador to Mexico, or to schedule a confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Helms, who heads the committee, has said Weld should be disqualified from a posting in Mexico City because he supports such things as marijuana for medicinal purposes, while Mexico continues to fight a drug war.