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RUSSIAN AND US POLITICAL SCIENTISTS BELIEVE IT NECESSARY TO EXPAND COOPERATION

MOSCOW, January 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian and US political scientists believe it necessary to widen the channels of cooperation between the two countries, not limiting them by presidential and governmental levels.

As the report by experts of the two countries points out, today relations between Russia and the U.S. remain to be a chief strategic component in bilateral contacts. The report has been presented on Thursday by president of the Russian Politika Foundation Vyacheslav Nikonov and director of the Carnegie Moscow Center Andrew Kuchins.

The Presidents are inclined to cooperate much more than possibly 90% of their stuffs which will have yet to be included into the development of partnership, the report says.

In the opinion of the political scientists, it should be necessary to institutionalize the communication channel between the US National Security Council and the Russian Security Council which has become of late the main instrument in cooperation on an operational level.

Apart from that, in the experts' opinion, it would be sensible to revive the group of strategic stability consisting of the Foreign and Defense Ministers of the two countries. Working groups for concrete problems could render support to this structure.

Taking into consideration the importance of combating terrorism, we also propose setting up a new institution in principle, a Joint Intelligence Committee which would be staffed with specialists from the security bodies of the two countries and which would be in charge of a regular exchange of ideas and information and the development of new trends in cooperation in the sphere of security, the report says.

The experts also believe it useful to institute a Russian-American civil forum that would deal with cooperation between non-governmental organizations. The political and entrepreneurial elites, the mass media, representative of culture and scientists must take part in working out the strategy of bilateral relations, the report says.

The Russian and American political scientists point out an umber of possible spheres for cooperation between Moscow and Washington. However, security and the power industry are the most perspective spheres today from their point of view.

As Mr. Nikonov pointed out, this report is the first experience of the joint work by the Russian and US political scientists. Though the need to find compromises often resulted in milder wording, this experience is very useful for developing cooperation between Moscow and Washington, the president of the Politika Foundation believes.