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Vladimir Putin's Hand
// An Honest Man Prepares to Play His Cards
Yesterday the second president of Russia met informally with the 42nd president of the US at the residence of his father, the 40th American president. As always, the heads of the two countries spoke openly on a wide range of international issues. Kommersant special correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov was on hand at the final press conference.
Even before the Russian president showed up, the small Maine town of Kennebunkport swarmed with protestors who had an even bigger bone to pick with US President George W. Bush than with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Crowds of protestors dragged a replica of the Statue of Liberty around town in a coffin, drove a hearse festooned with soldiers' boots from the Iraq war, paraded around a dog in a vest emblazoned with the slogan "I piss on Bush," and waved a map of Iran and Russia overlaid with a bull's-eye. Among the demonstrators there were many people who demanded the immediate impeachment of President Bush.
The Dissenters' March continued for several hours, during which the demonstrators gave the little town a good little shake-up. In general, the local residents seemed utterly confused to find themselves spending two days in the capital of worldwide live television broadcasts.
Actually, the meeting between Mr. Putin and Mr. Bush took place in a house at Walker Point, about two kilometers from Kennebunkport, and the television crews would have dearly loved to camp out there instead. However, Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush hardly made any appearances at all before the press over the weekend, and everyone has been left to wonder what exactly is going on behind closed doors.
On the first day of Mr. Putin's visit, George H.W. Bush came to pick up the Russian president in a motorboat that he piloted himself. As the way to the dock at Walker Point, George W. Bush had just a few words to say to an American television channel regarding the terrorist acts that were recently foiled in the UK: "You never know where they may try to strike next" (not exactly cheerful news) and "Gordon Brown knows what he's doing" (presumably, this is only in regard to terrorists so far).
The boat's three 275 hp motors were more than enough to foil an attempt organized by the press-service paparazzi of both governments to intercept the presidential entourage. Russian photojournalists were waiting in a boat of their own to document the historical moment, but all they got was a thorough soaking when the boat carrying the three leaders went tearing by at enormous speed.
But maybe the boat was just going so fast because its passengers were hungry. Dinner at Walker Point, which featured lobsters and swordfish, was attended by former president George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara, George W. and Laura Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko. According to Mr. Lavrov's dispassionate assessment, the fish was delicious.
It emerged later that the younger Mr. Bush had proudly regaled his guests at dinner with the tale of his meeting with a group of Russian tourists on the beach not far from Walker Point: according to Mr. Bush, he sat them in his motorboat and took them for a spin around the bay, much to their delight.
I also heard that at dinner the elder Mr. Bush told the story of his visit to the Piskarevskoye Cemetery during a trip to St. Petersburg. The conversation was about the Second World War, and Mr. Putin talked about Leningrad, the blockade, and his parents. Apparently, the details that Mr. Putin recounted and Mr. Bush remembered turned out to be a little too personal for the dinner table.
The next morning, Mr. Putin and Mr. Bush took a fishing trip and were not heard from for several hours. They returned empty-handed, however: Mr. Putin did catch a perch, but he released it.
The US president's residence pales in comparison to the size of the average millionaire's pad in the wealthy Moscow suburbs. Above the small pool, which measures 12 by 4 meters, flew a Russian flag. On one of the paved roads near the house a sign was posted that said, "Caution, the president is cycling. Drive slowly."
Before the press conference, the journalists could do nothing but wait patiently for the American and Russian presidents to come to them. While we were waiting, an elderly woman in a pink blouse and white cotton trousers approached. Sizing up the crowd of journalists, she smiled and drew her hand across her throat. What did Barbara Bush's gesture mean? That she was tired of her guests? That there were too many journalists?
"Thank heavens I'm not the First Lady anymore," she explained. "I've had enough."
Just then another person walked up. Although he was wearing sunglasses, it was easier to tell who he was by sight than it had been to recognize his wife. The elder George Bush claimed that he was wearing dark glasses so that no one would recognize him, but he admitted that everyone pounced on him immediately anyway.
Nevertheless, he didn't appear disappointed. "We spend a lot of time here now," he said, "and the people who come here can, I think, understand us."
He told us that Vladimir Putin really had caught a 31-inch perch while fishing that morning and that he had let it go, "although my chef is always asking me to give him what we catch."
A few minutes later, the younger Mr. Bush and his companion came out of the house and walked towards us.
"We had a good, casual discussion on a variety of issues," began Mr. Bush, adding, "through the course of our relationship there have been times when we've agreed on issues and there've been times when we haven't agreed on issues. But one thing I've found about Vladimir Putin is that he is consistent, transparent, [and] honest…"
It struck me that George Bush repeats these same words every two years or so with a kind of manic insistence.
"Indeed, we had a very nice fishing party this morning," said Mr. Putin. "We caught one fish, but that was a team effort, and we credit it to the captain…the 42nd President of the United States."
He was referring, of course, to the younger Mr. Bush.
Vladimir Putin then thanked the president's family: "I do believe that we have something to learn from the older generation. And the friendliness shown both to me and to the members of my delegation…" he paused, searching for the right words, "was far beyond the demands of official protocol."
I looked around for the elder Bushes and discovered them standing behind me and the rest of the journalists. He had his arm around her shoulder, and she was rubbing her hand across her eyes. It was a curiously touching moment.
"Mind you, we released the fish that we caught," confirmed Vladimir Putin.
The US president mentioned that he and the president of Russia had discussed numerous international issues during their two days together.
"I have been counting on Russia's support to send a clear message to the Iranians… Hopefully we'll be able to convince the regime that we have no problems with the people of Iran, but we do have a problem with a regime that is in defiance of international norms. And so we discussed a variety of ways to continue sending a joint message… [And] President Putin proposed a regional approach to missile defense; that we ought to work together bilaterally, as well as work through the Russia-NATO Council. And I'm in strong agreement with that concept."
It wasn't quite clear exactly what concept the US president was so interested in, but he seemed to know what he was talking about, which is the most important thing.
"We support the idea of consolidating our forces with regard to the Gabala radar station," added Mr. Putin. "And the idea is to achieve this through the Russia-NATO Council. But our proposal is not limited to this. We propose to establish an information exchange center in Moscow… A similar center could be established in one of the European capitals, in Brussels, for example. This could be a single system that would work in real time… In this case, there would be no need to place any more facilities in Europe – I mean, those facilities in the Czech Republic and the missile base in Poland. And if need be, we are prepared…to modernize the Gabala radar station. And if that is not enough, we would be prepared to include in this system a newly built radar station as well, an early warning system in the south of Russia."
These sensational proposals fell from Vladimir Putin's lips as though from a horn of plenty. Mr. Bush stared at him in surprise and even let his smile fade for the first time throughout the entire first 15 minutes of the press conference. It seemed that Mr. Putin had neglected to previously mention a few of these suggestions, and the US president appeared to have been caught flat-footed again.
Mr. Bush didn't stay down for long, though. He immediately bounced back, asserting that Poland and the Czech Republic should nevertheless be integrated into the new missile defense system, regardless of its final configuration.
"Do you still trust Vladimir Putin?" an American journalist asked him. "And President Putin, do you appreciate advice from Washington about democracy in Russia?"
"Here's the thing - when you're dealing with a world leader, you wonder whether or not he's telling the truth," answered the US president. "I've never had to worry about that with Vladimir Putin. Sometimes he says things I don't want to hear, but I know he's always telling me the truth… And so you ask, do I trust I him? Yes, I trust him."
In response to the question put to him by the same journalist, a correspondent for the television channel Russia Today, Mr. Putin did not insist that everything is unimpeachable at home in the sphere of human rights and freedom of speech. Instead, like usual, he insisted that the US isn't any better. "If you remember how Larry King tortured the former CIA Director, you would also understand that there are some other problems and issues as well…that, as a guest, I can't even bring up. We have common problems. And we are prepared to listen to each other. The only thing that we would never, never accept is these tools – this leverage being used to interfere in our domestic affairs," he said.
Mr. Putin had clearly prepared his closing remarks in advance: "The cards have been dealt, and we can start the game. And I would very much like us to be playing the same game," he concluded.
Mr. Bush had no such smooth closing line at hand, and so instead he closed the press conference with a monologue that praised Russia for its recent progress and its success in paying off Soviet-era debts. He also mentioned the growing Russian middle class and lauded the country's "amazing transformation."
All that remained was to ask George Bush whether he is rooting for Sochi as the host city for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
It's probably good that I didn't get a chance to ask that question, however. People in the know told me later how that line of inquiry probably would have ended: given the anti-Americanism afoot in the IOC, if the American president had said that he supports Sochi, Russia would have lost half its votes of support. And if he had said the opposite, Russia would still have seen its chances diminish by at least ten percent.
So there still is hope.
Hope dies last – or at least it survives until the IOC meeting in Guatemala tomorrow.
Andrei Kolesnikov
All the Article in Russian as of July 03, 2007
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