For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 21, 2001
President Bush and Russian President Putin Discuss Progress
Press Conference with President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin
Portman Ritz-Carlton
Shanghai, People's Republic of China
PRESIDENT PUTIN: Good
afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We will briefly inform you
about the meeting and talks with the U.S. President.
In our assessment, in Russian assessment,
the meeting was really productive and useful, as well as during our
previous negotiations at Ljubljana and Genoa, it was a forthright and
trustful talk.
Today, Russian-U.S. cooperation develops
smoothly and we take full note of the global changes that took place in
the world and we consistently strengthen the foundation of our new
relations. In this century, our strategic priority is a
long-term cooperation and partnership, a partnership which is based
upon common values of one civilization; the partnership which works for
our common goals of development and progress. And precisely in this
direction we intend to move.
November this year, our full-fledged
negotiations with the United States are to take place. And
we will discuss U.S.-Russia relations in detail and the most
significant issues of the world's policies. And the relevant
instructions to prepare this meeting were given to our experts and
agencies.
The consequences of the tragic events of
September 11th -- political, economic, psychological consequences --
today are acutely felt in many countries and in all the
continents. I think nobody has doubts the unprecedented
carnage of the terrorists requires our united efforts, unification of
the efforts of international community to fight terrorism. And we
prepared and we issued a joint statement in this regard.
We analyzed in detail the developments of
the Russia-U.S. dialogue on strategic stability issue. As
you remember, during Genoa meeting, there was an agreement to reach
about joint work on strategic offensive and defensive weapons, which
are inter-related. And in our assessment, we made progress
here.
First of all, it relates to START
issue. We reaffirmed our mutual intention to reduce
strategic offensive weapons. And now our task is to develop
parameters of such reductions and to design a reliable and verifiable
method to reduce nuclear arsenals of Russia and United States.
As for the ABM related issues, we also
made some progress -- at least, I believe we do have understanding that
we can reach agreements, taking into account national interests of
Russia, United States, and taking into account the necessity to
strengthen international stability in this very important area.
During the meeting, we exchanged opinions
on the most pressing regional issues -- Iraq, Middle East, the
Balkans. We intend to discuss relations of Russian
Federation with NATO. We attach special importance to
deepening business relations between Russia and the United States.
We agreed in Ljubljana and Genoa to pay
increased attention to that, and this agreement
works. Russia-American trade, economic investment links,
have been considerably broadened. Over the last months,
Secretary of Trade Minister Evans came to Moscow twice, and we received
Paul O'Neill and Robert Zoellick in Moscow. And we felt a
clear signal from the U.S. President, and all our partners displayed a
sincere desire to develop our relations.
Business -- in Russia with the United
States is moving forward, and not only U.S. and Russian companies
participate in it, but also small and medium enterprises. We
agreed to work on concrete measures in economic
interaction. We will discuss it with more details in
November in Texas.
Thank you for your attention.
PRESIDENT BUSH: My
administration seeks a new relationship with Russia based on
cooperation and mutual interests, instead of confrontation and mutual
vulnerability. We must truly and finally move beyond the
Cold War. Today, after my third meeting with Vladimir Putin
in five months, and after the events of the last five weeks, we can
report progress toward that goal -- positive progress.
Within hours after September 11th attacks,
President Putin called. He extended his sympathy and he
extended his support. He did something more. He knew that
the American military was moving to high alert status. To
simplify our situation, to show solidarity, he ordered Russia's
military to stop a set of exercises that were getting
underway. America, and I in particular, will remember this
act of friendship in a time of need.
Today the world is building a broad
international coalition against terrorism, and Russia is taking a full
and responsible role in the coalition. Russia is sharing
valuable intelligence on terrorist organizations, providing overflight
clearance for humanitarian missions, and helping out diplomatically.
It is clear that President Putin
understands the magnitude of the terrorist threat. It is
clear there's a lot the United States and Russia can do together to
defeat terrorism. The challenges and goals we share provide
an opportunity to rethink and renew a broader relationship.
Both our nations are working to prevent
proliferation and to reduce the threat from Cold War weapon stockpiles
throughout the former Soviet Union.
We also see progress in our efforts to
build a new strategic framework. Today we discussed
significantly lowering offensive nuclear weapon arsenals, within a
framework that includes limited defenses, defenses that are able to
protect both our lands from political blackmail, from potential
terrorist attack. Both our nations must be able to defend
ourselves against the new threats of the 21st century, including
long-range ballistic missiles.
The events of September the 11th make it
clearer than ever that a Cold War ABM treaty that prevents us from
defending our people is outdated, and I believe
dangerous. Economic cooperation and progress will be an
important part of our new relationship.
With the right incentives and a firm
commitment to rule of law, there is no question in my mind a new class
of entrepreneurs can grow and flourish in Russia. And
there's no question in my mind that American businesses and American
investment can foster that trend. Both President Putin and I
are anxious to see this happen.
And our new relationship is one of
candor. I emphasized to Vladimir Putin that the war on
terror is not, and cannot be, a war on minorities. It's important to
distinguish between those who pursue legitimate political aspirations
and terrorists.
We're also looking at ways we can work
together in the development of a free media in Russia. We
had a good and serious exchange. Both of us see great
opportunity. Both of us see positive good that has come out
of the evil of September the 11th. Both of us are willing to
work hard to seize the moment, to make sure we foster a new and unique
and constructive relationship between our two great lands.
I'll be glad to answer some
questions. Mr. Fournier, I take it you're the first one.
Q Thank you, Mr.
President. Sir, your communique did not mention the war in
Afghanistan, and several leaders at this meeting have urged America to
end the conflict quickly. What do you intend to do to cure
this queasiness about your military initiative?
And to President Putin, do you agree with
President Bush that the ABM, post-September 11th, is dangerous to the
world? And, if so, are you more open to modifying it or
scrapping it?
PRESIDENT BUSH: I think I
listened to probably three or four hours of discussions about our
campaign against terrorism. And there was a very strong
support for our activities -- strong support for sharing intelligence,
strong support for the diplomatic front we're waging, strong support to
disrupt the financial operations of the terrorists, and strong support
for our military operations in Afghanistan.
The people who came to this conference
came because they wanted to show the world that they were not afraid of
terrorists. They weren't going to let terrorists disrupt an
important meeting. They also came to stand with solidarity
with the United States. And I'm most appreciative of the
support we received. It was strong, it was steady, and it's
real. And the people of the United States need to know that
we're not conducting these operations alone. We've got
universal support around the world.
PRESIDENT PUTIN: I would like
to tell a couple of words about the first question. First of
all, I fully agree with the position of President Bush, and I believe
that his action was measured and adequate to the threat that the United
States was confronted with.
It's first. Second, and it is
very important for everybody to know, if we started fighting terrorism,
it should be completed, because otherwise, terrorists might have an
impression that they are not vulnerable. And in that case,
their actions would be more dangerous, more insolent, and would result
in worse consequences.
As for the ABM Treaty of 1972, our
position is well-known, and I can reproduce it once
again. We believe it is an important element of stability in
the world. But we agree, and I said it several times, that
we should think about future. We should look into the
future, and we should react adequately to possibly threats in
future. And we are prepared to discuss that with our
American partners, of course, in case of certain parameters for this
discussion is provided to us.
Q I have a question
to the American President. Recently you talked much that
U.S.-Russia relations gained a new strategic nature. And you
even called Vladimir Putin your friend. Could you give
specific examples of the changes in political, military and especially
economic sphere?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I think
the first sign of our new relationship is that he knows I don't view
Russia as an enemy, that we're not a threat to Russia. And I
know that he's not going to threaten the United States. That's a
different attitude from the old days.
The old days we used to distrust each
other. The old days, the discussions were not very frank and
candid. They were probably bureaucratic in
nature. And we have a very frank and open relationship,
because we're not a threat. As a matter of fact, we're
looking for ways to form alliances and to find common
ground. We actively seek ways to fight terrorism.
Vladimir Putin was the first person to
call -- that's what a friend does, calls in a time of need, and he
called. It's clear to me that he understands that we're
developing a new relationship. After all, in the old days,
had an American President put their troops on alert, Russia would have
responded. And then America would have upped the
ante. And then Russia would have upped the ante and we would
have had two issues on our hands -- one, a terrorist attack on America,
plus a military standoff.
Instead, his first reaction was to stand
down, so as not to create any confusion, any doubt, so that the United
States could stay focused on the terrorist attack. To me,
that signals a brand new attitude, a different point of view -- someone
who doesn't fear America, but someone who wants to find ways to work
with America. And so it's an attitude change, for starters.
Secondly, I look forward to working with
him on a new strategic framework. I also look forward to
working with him on ways to encourage the flow of capital from the
United States into Russia. Russia is a land of vast natural
resources. It's also a land of a different kind of resource,
and that's brain power. Russia has got a lot of
entrepreneurial talent. And I'm confident that the United
States and our entrepreneurs and Russian entrepreneurs will find ways
to work together. So we've got a lot in common.
But the thing that really bound us
together most right now is our common desire to fight
terrorism. And he understands what I understand, that the
new wars of the 21st century will be fought fighting evildoers, people
that have no country, people that may try to take a country, parasites
that may try to leech onto a host country. But that's the
true threat, and the true threat for both our
governments. And we'll work together to fight
terrorism. And he is an active participant in the coalition
and I'm grateful for his support and advice.
Holland -- I presume it's you, since
you're about to stand up.
Q Yes, thank you
very much, sir. Did you tell Mr. Putin that you would begin
the process of withdrawing from the ABM Treaty by the end of the
year? And did you give him a figure on missile cuts?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Let's see --
no, to the second. Let me be a little more
expansive. I told Mr. Putin that we are in the process of
analyzing our nuclear arsenal, and that I intended to fulfill a
campaign process, which was that we were going to reduce our nuclear
arsenal to a level that would help maintain the peace, on the one hand;
on the other hand, that would also represent the realities of the 21st
century.
Secondly, I reiterated exactly what I told
Vladimir in Slovenia -- that I felt like the ABM Treaty was outmoded
and outdated, and it was time for us to see if we couldn't work
together to move beyond the ABM Treaty.
Q -- (inaudible.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, we've got
work to do between now and Crawford, and I look forward to continuing
to work with him. Let me rephrase that -- now and
Washington/Crawford.
But he knows my feelings about the ABM
Treaty, and so does America -- actually, the world now I think fully
understands it. It was a treaty written when our nations
hated each other. We no longer hate each other. As a matter
of fact, we're finding ways to cooperate. It's also a treaty
that prevents peace-loving nations from developing systems necessary to
hold terrorists who might acquire weapons of mass destruction to be
delivered by ballistic missiles, won't be able to hold them
accountable.
And we're in a new war, a new
environment. And it seems wise to me to react to that
environment in a positive way. We'll continue working with
each other and see if we can't find common ground on the ABM Treaty.
Q I have question
to both Presidents. It attracts our attention that you are
building a good understanding on key problems. Can you say
with certainty that your teams will act in the same spirit?
PRESIDENT
BUSH: (Laughter.) That's a very interesting
question, and a man who understands bureaucracy. Well, I can
assure you that the Secretary of State understands my point of view,
and is working hard with his counterpart to achieve the common ground
we seek. We have sent -- as Vladimir mentioned, we sent our
Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of Commerce and our Trade
Representative to Russia to talk about ways to cooperate, talk about
ways to enhance the flow of capital from the United States into
Russia.
And so the answer to your question is,
absolutely, that we will -- that this attitude will be shared
throughout our government. And it's a very good question you
ask, because sometimes the intended top doesn't necessarily get
translated throughout the levels of government. I'm
confident, though, in this case, that it will happen. It's
too important a relationship to allow bureaucratic intransigence to
delay what I believe is going to be one of the more interesting
relationships as we head into the 21st century.
I think it's necessary that United States
and Russia cooperate. I think it's going to make the world
more peaceful. I think it will lend a lot of stability in
Europe, as well, when we find ways to cooperate.
PRESIDENT PUTIN: President Bush
told a lot of warm words about myself in public, and I'm grateful to
him for that, and I feel his attitude outside formal events and I hope
that he has the same feeling when he talks to me.
By the way, it does not prevent us from
protecting our viewpoints and from having our viewpoints, defending the
national interests of our countries. In particular, with
regard to the ABM, we continue our discussion. You can see
that.
I agree with many positions that President
Bush puts forward, and one cannot but agree with them. In
such complex issue like the ABM Treaty, we have common approach on the
basis of which we can discuss it and propose solutions. But
it would be difficult for me to agree that some terrorists will be able
to capture intercontinental missiles and will be able to use
them. So we always have discussions. But our good
relations does not impede this process.
Speaking about teams, of course, there is
always a bureaucratic threat. But I would like to draw
attention to the fact that if we talk about teams, it's a group of
like-minded men that will choose ourselves. And if a team, a so-called
team does something different from what we recognize as the right way
of developing our relations, I would like to have such people around
us.