JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Peru's President Alberto Fujimori has spent his second day here in Washington looking for answers to his political problems back in Peru. CNN State Department correspondent Andrea Koppel reports.</s>ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The smile may have looked a little weak, but U.S. officials say by meeting with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and National Security Adviser Samuel Berger, President Alberto Fujimori meant to signal strength to people back home. "He wouldn't be traveling," said one senior U.S. official, "if he was worried about a military coup." What worries President Fujimori, they say, is his legacy and the possibility he might be forced by the Peruvian people to leave office before new elections next year.</s>ALBERTO FUJIMORI, PRESIDENT OF PERU (through translator): What I do want to say is that stability and democracy are going to be guaranteed in Peru.</s>KOPPEL: President Fujimori's about-face on the need for another round of democratic presidential and congressional elections was well received by the Organization of American States and the Clinton administration. Only a few weeks ago, Mr. Fujimori got an earful from Secretary Albright about the need to institute democratic reforms and to clean up Peru's intelligence service, headed by his key adviser, Vladimiro Montesinos, who has since fled to Panama.</s>RICHARD BOUCHER, U.S. STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: And the conversation this time was about how to make sure that the OAS process is implemented fully and that next year's -- that the elections coming up are free, fair and credible in the hemisphere.</s>KOPPEL (on camera): And despite expected short-term instability, officials say they are somewhat optimistic President Fujimori will be true to his word. The question, they say, is whether Alberto Fujimori will succeed in staying in power until next year's elections. Andrea Koppel, CNN, the State Department.
Fujimori Hopes U.S. Visit Signals Strength to Peruvian People