Tracking Number: 326969
Title: "Clinton Sees Long-Term Partnership with Kazakhstan." President Clinton, accepting the instruments of accession to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty from President
Nazarbayev, declared that the US and Kazakhstan have established the basis for a long-term partnership of immense strategic importance. (940214)
Translated Title: Les relations des E-U avec le Kazakhstan. (940214)
Author: SULLIVAN, ALEXANDER M (USIA STAFF WRITER)
Date: 19940214
Text:
CLINTON SEES LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP WITH KAZAKHSTAN
(Says accords open "bright new era" in relations) (940) By Alexander M. Sullivan USIA White House Correspondent Washington -- The United States and Kazakhstan "have established the basis for a long-term partnership of immense strategic importance," President Clinton declared February 14.
Clinton accepted the instruments of accession to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty from President Nursultan Nazarbayev in a White House ceremony and the two leaders signed a Charter on Democratic Partnership. Elsewhere, the two countries signed agreements on scientific cooperation, space, defense conversion, investment protection and defense cooperation.
"These are the building blocks," Clinton pointed out, "of a strong and enduring relationship. The president's visit here today opens a bright new era for that relationship."
Nazarbayev could have turned over the instruments of accession to the NPT in any of the depository states -- Russia, Britain or the United States. A senior administration official speculated that Nazarbayev chose Washington because of the high-level attention given to the matter by the Clinton administration -- which has been working to assure that the end of the Soviet Union is not marked by an increase in nuclear states -- including visits to Almaty by Vice President Gore and Secretary of State Christopher, and a series of personal letters from Clinton to the Kazakhstan president.
Clinton told a questioner that Washington thinks Almaty is "critically important to our interests and to the future of democracy and stability in Central Asia." He said Kazakhstan's "size, geographic location...its immense natural wealth...its progress in promoting reforms and...its strong leadership" make it "a very, very important country to us and a very important part of our future calculations."
Clinton announced an increase in aid to Kazakhstan, from $91 million to $311 million, to promote economic reform and nuclear dismantlement there, as well as an additional $85 million in 1995 for the "safe and secure dismantlement of nuclear weapons."
The president heaped praise on Kazakhstan for its decision to become a non-nuclear state, asserting that "this historic step sets an example for the entire world at a pivotal time in international non-proliferation efforts." Clinton said the decision means the eventual elimination of more than 1,000 nuclear warheads mounted on Soviet SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles. The weapons were left on Kazakhstan territory when the Soviet Union was dissolved. The senior administration official said 104 ten-warhead SS-18 missiles, once called "silo-busters" for their counterforce ability, were left on Kazakhstan's territory when the Soviet Union broke up. The official said Almaty has been dismantling some of the SS-18s and estimated that about 92 are left.
Some of the funding for "safe and secure" nuclear dismantling activities, the official said, will be used to destroy SS-18 silos.
Clinton and Nazarbayev met alone for 45 minutes in the Oval Office, then brought in aides for a working luncheon in the residence portion of the White House. The official said Almaty is receiving the third-highest level of U.S. of aid to states of the former Soviet Union, a recognition both of the extent and success of its economic reform movement and of its steadfast commitment to nuclear non-proliferation.
Kazakhstan is also a signatory of the Lisbon Protocol, which binds it to arms control agreements signed by the Soviet Union, including the START I and START II pacts.
The official said the two presidents, in their private Oval Office session, discussed trade and investment topics, including methods of exporting oil from Kazakhstan's oil field, described as the largest petroleum find since Alaska's North Slope discovery 20 years ago. Nazarbayev said there are several additional deposits of equal or greater size. The Chevron Corporation is shipping oil from the field through a Russian pipeline to a Black Sea port for world distribution. Chevron is committed to spending 80 percent of the $20,000 million cost of developing the field.
The official said one of the largest issues between Washington and Almaty is Kazakhstan's pending decision on building a pipeline which would transit Iran. Washington, he said, is interested in exploring ways to continue use of the Russian pipeline.
He said the presidents decided, during the Oval Office session, to form a joint committee to explore that and similar bilateral issues, including measures to improve economic and political ties between the two countries. During the meeting, Nazarbayev informed Clinton of Almaty's decision to participate in the Partnership for Peace; the defense cooperation agreement signed at the Pentagon, he explained, would facilitate military contacts and pave the way for smooth integration of Kazakhstan forces with NATO in training exercises.
The two men discussed the reform movement in Kazakhstan and in other former states of the Soviet Union; without giving details, the official said the presidents discussed the impact of reform efforts in Russia on Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other countries in Central Asia. "President Nazarbayev," the official added, "sees Kazakhstan's future security as a function of its relationship with Europe and North America, as well as with Russia and China. He said a number of times how important it is for the United States to remain involved."
The luncheon discussion covered the Soviet cosmodrome at Baykonur, which is presently under Russian administration. "We will be involved with the Russians and the Kazakhs in any joint space program work that we do with either country using that facility," the official noted. Without elaboration, he said "there are a number of issues being negotiated out between the Russians and the Kazakhstanis over exactly how the future of that facility will be structured."
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File Identification: 02/14/94, POL105; 02/14/94, EUR104; 02/14/94, NEA112; 02/15/94, AEF207; 02/15/94, LEF211; 02/15/94, ERF201; 02/16/94, ERF308; 02/16/94, AFF306
Product Name: Wireless File
Product
Code: WF
Languages: Russian; Russian; French
Keywords: KAZAKHSTAN-US RELATIONS/Policy; CLINTON, BILL/Foreign Relations: Europe; KAZAKHSTAN/Defense & Military; NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION/Policy;
NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY (NPT); DISARMAMENT; NAZARBAYEV, NURSULTAN A; STATE VISITS
Thematic Codes: 1UR; 1AC
Target Areas: EU; NE; AF; AR
PDQ Text Link: 326969; 327459
USIA
Notes: *94021405.POL
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