eMediaMillWorks
Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2001

Following is the text of remarks from a joint press conference between President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin

BUSH: It's a great honor for me to welcome President Vladimir Putin to the White House, and to welcome his wife as well.

This is a new day in the long history of Russian-American relations, a day of progress and a day of hope. The United States and Russia are in the midst of the transformation of a relationship that will yield peace and progress. We're transforming our relationship from one of hostility and suspicion to one based on cooperation and trust that will enhance opportunities for peace and progress for our citizens and for people all around the world.

The challenge of terrorism makes our close cooperation on all issues even more urgent. Russia and America share the same threat and the same resolve. We will fight and defeat terrorist networks wherever they exist.

Our highest priority is to keep terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Today we agreed that Russian and American experts will work together to share information and expertise to counter the threat from bioterrorism. We agreed that it is urgent that we improve the physical protection and accounting of nuclear materials and prevent illicit nuclear trafficking.

And we will strengthen our efforts to cut off every possible source of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons materials and expertise.

Today, we also agreed to work more closely to combat organized crime and drug trafficking, a leading source of terrorist financing. Both nations are committed to the reconstruction of Afghanistan once hostilities there have ceased and the Taliban are no longer in control. We support the U.N.'s efforts to fashion a post-Taliban government that is broadly based and multi-ethnic. The new government must export neither terror not drugs, and it must respect fundamental human rights.

As Russia and the United States work more closely to meet new 21st century threats, we're also working hard to put the threats of the 20th century behind us once and for all, and we can report great progress.

The current levels of our nuclear forces do not reflect today's strategic realities. 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.

Russia and the United States have also had vast discussions about our defensive capabilities. The ability to defend ourselves as we head into the 21st century.

We have different points of view about the ABM Treaty. And we will continue dialogue and discussions about the ABM Treaty, 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 spirit of partnership that now runs through our relationship is allowing the United States and Russia to form common approaches to important regional issues. In the Middle East, we agree that all parties must take practical actions to ease tensions so that peace talks can resume. We urge the parties to move without delay to implement the Tenet work plan and the Mitchell report recommendations.

In Europe, we share a vision of a European Atlantic community whole, free and at peace, one that includes all of Europe's democracies and where the independence and sovereignty of all nations are respected.

Russia should be a part of this Europe. We will work together with NATO and NATO members to build new avenues of cooperation and consultation between Russia and NATO.

NATO members and Russia are increasingly allied against terrorism, regional instability and other threats of our age. And NATO must reflect this alliance. We are encouraged by President Putin's commitment to a political dialogue in Chechnya.

Russia has also made important strides on immigration and the protection of religious and ethnic minorities, including Russia's Jewish community. On these issues, Russia is a fundamentally different place than it was during the Soviet era. President Putin told me that these gains for freedom will be protected and expanded. Our foreign ministers have sealed this understanding in an exchange of letters.

Because of this progress, my administration will work with Congress to end the application of Jackson-Vanik amendment to Russia. Russia has set out to strengthen free market institutions and the rule of law. On this basis, our economic relationship is developing quickly, and we will look for further ways to expand it.

A strong independent media is a vital part of a new Russia. We have agreed to launch a dialogue on media entrepreneurship so that American and Russian media representatives can meet and make practical recommendations to both our governments in order to advance our goal of a free media and free exchange of ideas.

Russia and the United States will continue to face complex and difficult issues, yet we have made great progress in a very short period of time.

Today, because we are working together, both our countries and the world are more secure and safe.

I want to thank President Putin for the spirit of our meetings. Together, we're making history as we make progress.

Laura and I are looking forward to welcoming the Putins to our ranch in Crawford, Texas.

I can't wait to show you my state and where I live. In the meantime, I hope you have a fine stay here in Washington, D.C., and it's my honor to welcome you to the White House, sir, and welcome you to the podium.

PUTIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether I would have an opportunity to address such a representative audience of the press and media.

I would like to begin anyway with a thanks to the president of the United States not only for his kind invitation to visit the United States and Washington, but also for his very informal initiation of our negotiations earlier today.

Myself and my colleagues are very pleased to be here at this historic building of the White House.

And President Bush deemed it appropriate not only to tour me--to guide me through the premises of this house where he lives. We saw almost every picture hanging on the walls of this great building. But it's not only very interesting, but it also changes for the better the quality of our relationship.

I would like to once again thank the president and the American people, and I would like to express our condolences in connection with the recent plane crash in the United States. As they say in Russia, tragedy does not come alone; tragedies always come in many numbers. I am confident that the U.S. American people would face this tragedy very bravely.

I would like to inform you that the Washington part of our negotiations is being completed, and our discussions proved very constructive, interesting and useful and will continue at Crawford. But the preliminary results, we evaluate as extremely positive. This is our fourth meeting with President Bush in the last few months.

I believe this is a vivid demonstration of the dynamic nature of the Russian-American relations. We have come to understand each other better, and our positions are becoming closer on the key issues of bilateral and international relations. We are prepared now to seek solutions in all areas of our joint abilities. We intend to dismantle conclusively the vestiges of the Cold War and to develop new--entirely new partnership for long term. Of course, we discussed in detail the subject matter of the fight against terrorism.

The tragic developments of September 11 demonstrated vividly the need for a joint effort to counter this global threat. We consider this threat as a global threat, indeed, and the terrorists and those who help them should know that the justice is inescapable, and it will reach them wherever they try to hide.

Also, post-crisis, political settlement in Afghanistan was discussed. The most important thing for today is to return peace and the life in order to Afghanistan, so that no threat originate from Afghanistan to the international stability. Of course, we do not intend to force upon the Afghani people the solutions. It is for them to resolve those issues with the active participation of the United Nations.

We discussed in detail our dialogue related to strategic offensive and defensive weapons. Here, we managed to achieve certain progress. First of all, it has to do with the prospects of reaching a reliable and verifiable agreement on further reductions of the U.S. and the Russian's weapons. Here, I must say, 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.

On the issues of missile defense, the position of Russia remains unchanged, and we agreed to continue dialogue and consultations on this.

I believe that it's too early now to draw the line on the discussions of these issues. And we will have an opportunity to continue the work on this, one of the very difficult issues, at the Crawford ranch.

We also exchanged on a number of topical issues of international importance--the Balkans, Iraq--and we reiterated in a joint statement the resolve of the Unite States and Russia to facilitate settlement in the Middle East and the early resumption of negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

We also discussed seriously the development of relations between Russia and NATO, including taking into account a change in the international situation. We consider that there are opportunities for an entirely new mechanism, joint decision making and coordinated action in the area of security and stability.

We considered in detail a number of economic cooperation issues. The Russian American dialogue on this area has become recently more constructive and more tangible. Such major investment projects as Sakhalin I and Caspian pipeline consortium are gaining momentum. Successful cooperation in the airspace, mining, chemistry, car building and other industries.

Direct contacts are expanding between entrepreneurs of the two countries, including within the Russian-American business dialogue. It is with satisfaction that we note a certain progress in issues related to the Russia's accession to the WTO, in recognizing Russia as a market economy country. And we felt a great degree of understanding that such issues should be resolved; I mean, dealing with the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, not de facto, but in legal terms.

And in this context, our foreign minister and the secretary of state, Messrs. Ivanov and Powell, exchanged letters reiterating the resolve of Russia and the United States to observe human rights and religious freedoms.

Of course, the capabilities embedded in the bilateral relationship have not been fully implemented--indeed, we have quite a lot of things to do, but we are confident that the success is by and large predetermined by our resolve to cooperate energetically and constructively.

That, and I'm confident, would benefit both countries and which is reflected also in our visit to this country today.

Thank you.