Most Western reporters have been denied access to the country since last spring.

There was no chance for him to be questioned by Western reporters.

Western reporters have been banned from the region since early this month.

Western reporters asked him how he felt about the carnage.

Soviet officials have told Western reporters and diplomats they would like to bring their troops home by the end of 1988.

It was also the first time in the crisis that he has met with and answered questions from Western reporters.

"Considering this, foreign assistance has been very small," he said in an interview with Western reporters.

Soviet television reported several thousand participants, while Western reporters estimated the crowd at up to 200,000.

But he promised that Western reporters would be taken to the city, possibly this week, to see the destruction for themselves.

He is a measured, thoughtful man, respected by many Western reporters.