#2
Kommersant
November 1, 2001
IGOR IVANOV PREPARES PRESIDENTS
... for peace in a time of war
Hoping to resolve some old problems and find some new agreements
Author: Andrei Ivanov, Oksana Alekseeva
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]

FOREIGN MINISTER IGOR IVANOV FLEW TO WASHINGTON YESTERDAY TO COMPLETE PREPARATIONS FOR THE RUSSIAN-AMERICAN SUMMIT SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER. THE KREMLIN HOPES THAT THE JACKSON-VANIK AMENDMENT WILL BE ABOLISHED AND THE UNITED STATES WILL RECOGNIZE RUSSIA AS A STATE WITH A FREE MARKET ECONOMY.

The agenda of Ivanov's talks with his opposite number Colin Powell includes abolition of the Jackson-Vanik amendment to the law on trade (it connects the most favorable regime status for Eastern bloc states with freedom of immigration). The amendment was adopted at the demand of American human rights activists in 1974. The US Administration began consultations with the Congress over abolition of the amendment with regard to Russia two days before Ivanov's visit. The Kremlin hopes that the amendment will be abolished and the United States will recognize Russia as a state with a free market economy.

Missile defense and America's withdrawal from the ABM treaty of 1972 will be on the agenda as well. Ivanov was quoted as saying not long before the visit: "A key element of global strategic stability, the ABM treaty should remain untouched while strategic cooperation between the United States and Russia is discussed." US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has announced more than once that Washington does not plan to withdraw from the treaty for the time being. The United States has even cancelled some planned tests of the national missile defense system. On the whole, however, Washington's position remains unchanged - the treaty is outmoded. As the US Ambassador Alexander Vershbow put it the other day, Moscow and Washington need "a common approach in the matter of a transition from the ABM treaty to a new strategic stability agreement." All the same, Russia wants guarantees from the United States that this alliance is not strictly temporary, and that the United States will not turn its back on Russia as soon as things get better.

A letter was sent to President George W. Bush yesterday by Russia's Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar. A member of the presidential council for cooperation with religious organizations, Lazar asks Bush to facilitate abolition of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, adopted to a considerable extent in response to the Soviet policy of state anti- Semitism. Here are some excerpts from the letter: "Episodes of anti-Semitism have become less frequent thanks to the new administration under President Vladimir Putin. His government firmly stands against those who incite anti-Semitic violence. Whenever such episodes occur, the authorities' response is instant, and those responsible are brought to account. In the light of Putin's goodwill acts with regard to the Jewish community in Russia and all ethnic minorities, in the light of removal of all restrictions on free emigration and his wholehearted support of the Jews' right to emigrate and travel abroad and have dual citizenship, in the light of his desire to improve the life of the Jewish community, I urge you, Mr. President, to put Russia on the list of the states enjoying normal trade relations with the United States."

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