13 November 2001
Bush, Putin Agree on Cutting Nuclear Arsenals
(But discussions continue on ABM Treaty) (830)
By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File White House Correspondent
Washington -- The United States will sharply cut its nuclear arsenal
over the next ten years, President Bush announced at a joint news
conference November 13 at the White House with Russia's President
Vladimir Putin.
"I have informed President Putin that the United States will reduce
our operationally deployed strategic nuclear warheads to a level
between 1,700 and 2,200 over the next decade, a level fully consistent
with American security," Bush said.
The U.S. arsenal includes about 6,000 such weapons.
Russia's leader said his nation would reciprocate by cutting its
arsenal, but he did not give a specific figure.
"We appreciate very much the decision by the President to reduce
strategic offensive weapons to the limits indicated by him and we, for
our part, will try to respond in kind," Putin said.
But on the issue of whether the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty
has outlived its usefulness, Bush and Putin continue to have different
views.
Bush said he remained convinced that the treaty signed between the
United States and the Soviet Union in 1972 "is outdated and we need to
move beyond it. And we're having discussions along those lines."
He said "dialogue and discussions" would continue on that subject "so
that we may be able to develop a new strategic framework that enables
both of us to meet the true threats of the 21st century as partners
and friends, not as adversaries."
"The position of Russia remains unchanged," Putin said of his
government's objection to scrapping the ABM treaty that bars national
missile defenses.
But, the two leaders made clear they had found common ground on
numerous other issues, including the war on terrorism and the shape of
a future government in Afghanistan.
And they both acknowledged that relations between their two countries
had fundamentally changed since the Cold War.
Bush characterized the new relationship as one "based upon trust and
cooperation."
Putin said his government intends "to dismantle conclusively the
vestiges of the Cold War and to develop an entirely new partnership"
with the United States.
"We need to, and want to, build a new relationship in the 21st
century," he said.
Putin said that Bush has an open invitation to visit Russia at any
time, and in any format, convenient to him.
On the military situation in Afghanistan, Bush said "we're making
great progress in our objective, and that is to tighten the net and
eventually bring al Qaeda to justice and, at the same time, deal with
the government that has been harboring them."
The Taliban regime, he added, "has been wreaking havoc on the entire
country for over a decade; this has been one of the most repressive
regimes in the history of mankind."
The United States, Bush said, will continue to work with the Northern
Alliance commanders to make sure they are protecting the human rights
of citizens they are liberating from the Taliban.
Putin urged reporters to pay attention to the happy reactions of men
and women in the Afghan cities and villages no longer controlled by
the Taliban.
Once the fighting ends, both Bush and Putin said, it is important that
a future Afghan government include representatives from all of
Afghanistan.
And both leaders agreed that Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf
should be supported.
"The best way to make sure that terrorists do not end up with nuclear
weaponry in that part of the world is for President Musharraf to
provide a stable government and to fulfill what he said he would do,
which is to have elections in a short period of time," Bush said.
"He deserves our nation's support, and so we are putting together an
economic package that will help him with debt, help him with the
expenses of the ongoing operations, helping with trade. And we will
continue a dialogue with the Pakistan leader, with the full intent of
finding ways we can cooperate, in order to bring stability to that
part of the world."
"We all should support President Musharraf. This would be the right
thing to do," Putin said.
Putin was asked to describe his reaction to U.S. armed forces using
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to stage military actions against the
terrorists in Afghanistan.
He said he was "more concerned with the terrorist training camps in
northern Afghanistan" than with having U.S. troops in Central Asia.
"If we are looking through the prism of partnership and alliance, we
have nothing to be afraid of," he said. He also noted that Uzbekistan
and Tajikistan are both independent countries, with their own foreign
policy.
Bush and Putin also discussed relations between Russia and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The two leaders will continue discussions at the President's ranch in
Crawford, Texas November 14 and 15.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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