VILNIUS, U.S.S.R. -- Boosted by a landslide victory at the polls, Lithuania's president has called on the United States to warn Moscow to keep its hands off Lithuania.

Vytautas Landsbergis also disclosed yesterday that it was President Bush who, during a White House meeting last December, suggested a republic-wide vote "as a way of expressing the nation's will."

Landsbergis told reporters the beleaguered Vilnius government has a right to expect a bolder turn in U.S. policy. Meanwhile, the Kremlin called the vote unconstitutional.