Russian President Vladimir Putin (second from right) and former US president George H.W. Bush (center) arrive by helicopter at the Bush family compound near Kennebunkport, Maine, on July 1, 2007.
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Summit of Disagreement
// US and Russian Presidents Fulfill at Least One Expectation
At their meeting in Kennebunkport, Maine, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President George Bush failed to come to any real agreement on any of the pressing issues that were discussed. Nevertheless, the "lobster summit" did live up to one expectation: the two leaders clearly demonstrated that the relationship between Russia and the US has not deteriorated to the level of a new Cold War.
Commenting yesterday on the results of the meeting, White House national security advisor Stephen Hadley said that Russia and the US had reached several agreements that "testify to the strength of the relationship between them." Mr. Hadley cited cooperation agreements on the peaceful use of atomic energy and on nuclear nonproliferation, as well as a document that, according to him, "lays the foundation for a conversation about nuclear weapons after the expiration of the SNF-1 (Strategic Nuclear Forces) treaty in 2009."
However, all of these consenses were reached before the two presidents met at the Bush family compound last weekend, and at the meeting in Maine, Vladimir Putin and George Bush discussed questions on which the positions of the two sides completely fail to coincide. In particular, no breakthroughs were made on the three most important issues: missile defense, Iran, and Kosovo.
The closest thing to an agreement between the two presidents was apparently on the issue of Iran. George Bush said at the concluding press conference on Sunday that he is "concerned about the Iranians' attempt to develop the technologies, the know-how to develop a nuclear weapon…[and] I think [Mr. Putin] shares that same concern," and he declared that Moscow and Washington have agreed to send Tehran a "clear joint signal" of their disapproval of Iran's nuclear program. Vladimir Putin added that Russia and the US have so far "managed to work within the framework of the Security Council [on this issue]" successfully and noted that there have recently been signals from Tehran that may indicate progress on Iranian cooperation with the IAEA.
According to western sources, however, Russia is still not prepared to agree with an American demand to introduce a new round of sanctions against Tehran that would include inspections of any cargo being shipped to Iran that might contain nuclear technology. Washington is also calling for Iran's foreign assets to be frozen.
Neither the presidents themselves nor any members of their respective delegations had anything to say at the final press conference on the subject of Kosovo. On the eve of the summit, Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko announced that Russia is aiming "to come to a compromise on the status of the region that is acceptable to the UN Security Council and that does not create a negative precedent in other regions of the world." Kommersant has learned that in Kennebunkport the two presidents were presented with a stack of information compiled by a group of experts on the Kosovo problem, but Moscow still finds the solutions proposed by the American side to be insufficient compromises.
As a consequence, the haggling between Russia and the US over the fate of Kosovo will continue. Yesterday an anonymous American diplomat in Belgrade explained to journalists why Moscow and Washington are clinging so fiercely to their different positions concerning Kosovo: "This is the least important of all of the problems that exist between us, so Russia and the US have little to lose [on the issue]."
A great deal of attention was paid at the summit in Kennebunkport to missile defense. In particular, Vladimir Putin expanded on the proposal that he made to George Bush at the G8 summit in June that the US and Russia jointly operate the Gabala radar station that Russia leases from Azerbaijan, suggesting that "the system include a missile early-warning radar station that is being built in southern Russia." Mr. Putin also suggested that the early-warning system should be a European missile defense shield under the control of the Russia-NATO Council and that integrated information exchange systems could be created in Moscow and Brussels.
The Americans' first reaction to these proposals was encouraging for Russia. During the press conference, George Bush called Vladimir Putin's idea "bold and strategic," and national security advisor Stephen Hadley later described it as "an interesting move and real progress on the issue at hand." Yesterday NATO also reacted positively to the Russian president's idea. "I don't see any obstacles to this proposal being discussed at the next meeting of the Russia-NATO Council," said a source at NATO headquarters.
The reaction to Mr. Putin's suggestion put many Russian politicians in an upbeat mood. "This proposal really presents a historic chance to unite [the efforts of Russia and the US], and it could have a breakthrough effect," said State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Konstatin Kosachev. He was seconded by a colleague from the Federal Council, Mikhail Margolev: "Vladimir Putin's proposal to the Americans to create a joint missile defense system shows that Russia is prepared for a real strategic partnership with the US."
In Kennebunkport, however, it was immediately apparent that there had been no real rapprochement between the two presidents on the topic of missile defense. At the press conference after the conclusion of the talks, George Bush reasserted his belief that "the Czech Republic and Poland need to be an integral part of the [missile defense] system." Moscow, however, is pushing the Gabala station and the station in southern Russia as alternatives to the expansion of the American missile defense system into these two Eastern European countries.
Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, yesterday called President Putin's plan "a minor modification" of his earlier proposal, adding that it contains "the same shortcomings." According to other western sources, the Americans' main objections to the Russian president's plan boil down to the concern that the proposed system would be created on Russia's terms and would be under Russian control. The American side also believes that any variant that does not include bases in Poland and the Czech Republic is not an acceptable compromise.
The achievement of any consensus between Russia and the US on the issue of missile defense is undoubtedly far off. That does not appear to unduly concern Moscow, however: Mr. Margelov of the Russian Federation Council said yesterday that, by advancing new proposals for a missile defense system, Moscow has already "pulled out a political victory." "There will come a moment of truth, when the American response to the Russian leader's unambiguous proposal cannot be vague – [the American side] will have to answer straightforwardly," he said. General Leonid Ivashov, the head of the Academy for Geopolitical Issues, was more blunt in his assessment. According to General Ivashov, Russia's task is to "expose American deceit" and untangle it from "honest intentions" in the sphere of missile defense. With attitudes like that, Moscow is apparently not counting on reaching any real agreement with Washington on the issue.
Gennady Sysoyev
All the Article in Russian as of July 04, 2007
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