ACCESSION NUMBER:301701
FILE ID:EUR409
DATE:09/02/93
TITLE:U.S. AND RUSSIA SIGN AGREEMENTS ON SPACE AND ENERGY (09/02/93)
TEXT:*93090209.EUR
*EUR409 09/02/93 *
U.S. AND RUSSIA SIGN AGREEMENTS ON SPACE AND ENERGY
(Gore says new partnership has been formed) (650)
By David Pitts
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- Saying "it is time to leave behind the vestiges of the Cold
War," Vice President Gore joined Russian Prime Minister Victor Chernomyrdin
September 2 in signing agreements that Gore said herald unprecedented
cooperation between the two countries in space, energy, and the
environment.
They also signed a memorandum of understanding on the Missile Technology
Control Regime (MTCR) that indicates Russia "is showing its readiness to be
a responsible partner" in the sale of missile technology," Gore remarked.
It is "a welcome and important step," he added.
"Turning 40 years of competition into a future of cooperation is no easy
task," Gore said. The agreements mean that "a new partnership with Russia"
has been formed, the focus of which is high technology cooperation, he
said.
The signing ceremony culminated two days of discussions between Gore and
Chernomyrdin and their respective teams on the U.S.-Russian Commission on
Cooperation in Space and Energy. This was the first meeting of the
commission since it was created during the Vancouver summit between
President Clinton and President Yeltsin.
The agreements signed on space were:
-- a commercial launch agreement that will give Russia access to the launch
services market.
-- a joint statement on space cooperation that defines a phased approach for
cooperation on human space flight.
-- two other joint statements, one on environmental monitoring and space
science, the other on aeronautics.
1he agreements on space could lead to an unprecedented level of cooperation
resulting in a truly international space station by the late 1990s, Gore
noted. "The agreements today on space cooperation have their roots in the
Apollo/Soyuz rendezvous and docking in 1975," Gore continued. "Our common
future holds more of what the Apollo/Soyuz mission foretold," he added.
Asked what the United States has to gain from cooperating with the Russians
in space, particularly the development of a space station, Gore said, "We
will have a better space station through cooperation with Russia."
The space station that will result from the cooperative effort "will have
more power, significantly more capacity for scientific experiments, and a
better orbit," Gore explained. He also said that not only will the cost be
lower, but "we will be able to achieve orbit four years earlier than would
otherwise be the case."
Another major focus of the meetings was the removal of trade and investment
barriers, Gore noted. Such barriers exist in both countries, he added.
The vice president said, "We will work very hard to expand trade and
investment" and indicated that the U.S. and Russia will name two ombudsmen
"to identify and remove obstacles to trade and investment."
Gore noted that U.S. investment in Hungary is 500 percent greater than in
Russia, and yet Hungary has just one-twentieth of the population.
Several important agreements were also signed on energy and nuclear power,
Gore noted. A "joint study on nuclear power plant safety issues will also
take place," Gore explained. He also said that, "We will be working
closely with Russia and our own business communities to complete the many
U.S. private sector oil and gas deals that are ready to go."
The vice president cited two major projects for Russia announced by the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). One $100 million project
will support privatization in Russia. Loan guarantees and insurance for
Texaco's $80 million project to restore oil wells in Siberia -- worth $28
million -- were also announced.
Gore said he has accepted an invitation to visit Moscow later this year for
the next meeting of the Commission. The working groups will begin work
immediately for the next meeting, he explained. Chernomyrdin met with
President Clinton September 2 before departing the United States later in
the day.
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