June 16, 2001 

This Date's Issues:   5304 • 5305

Johnson's Russia List
#4305
16 June 2001
davidjohnson@erols.com

[Note from David Johnson:
1. Reuters: Bush, Putin agree to security framework talks.
2. AP: Bush and Putin Chat in English.
3. UPI: Martin Walker, Bush, Putin off to a good start.
4. Transcript of Press Conference By President Bush And Russian Federation President Putin.
5. Transcript of June 16 White House Press Briefing by Secretary of State Powell and National Security Advizor Rice.]

*******

#1
Bush, Putin agree to security framework talks
By Steve Holland

BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush
and Russian President Vladimir Putin directed top aides on Saturday to
discuss a new security framework with the aim of bridging deep differences on
missile defence.

The two leaders in their first meeting, in a 16th-century castle outside the
Slovenian capital Ljubljana, agreed to hold two more summits, one in
Washington this autumn that could include a stop at Bush's Texas ranch, and
one later in Russia.

During an extended one-on-one session of 100 minutes, a stroll along a
tree-lined path, and another meeting which included their delegations, they
said they had developed the kind of chemistry between them they had wanted.

Both were remarkably chatty and friendly during their news conference. Bush
said he "looked the man in the eye" and found him straightforward and
trustworthy.

"There was no kind of diplomatic chitchat, trying to throw each other off
balance. There was a straightforward dialogue. And that's the beginning of a
very constructive relationship. I wouldn't have invited him to my ranch if I
didn't trust him," Bush said.

Putin was also upbeat on the relationship, saying: "I am convinced that ahead
of us we have a constructive dialogue."

Putin offered some tantalising hope on a possible deal on the Anti-Ballistic
Missile treaty, the 1972 accord that is the foundation of U.S.-Russian
nuclear stability.

Bush wants to set it aside over Russian objections in order to deploy a
missile defence to counter the chance of missiles fired by belligerent
nations. The topic dominated Bush's inaugural tour of Europe, which ended on
Saturday.

WARNING ON ABM TREATY

During their joint news conference, Putin cautioned Washington against
unilaterally abrogating the ABM treaty.

But he dropped a hint of possible progress, saying he had come to the
conclusion "that we might have a very constructive development here in this
area."

"Threats have to be defined," Putin said. "We have to look at where they come
from and then make some decisions as to how we have to counter them. We feel
that we can do it best together."

Bush, in a brief interview with Reuters after the talks, said he liked what
he heard from Putin, calling it a "positive statement."

"I was pleased with the receptivity of Mr Putin. He didn't make any
commitments, but he listened carefully," Bush said.

"He's a modern thinker," Bush added.

He said Putin showed an inclination to "think differently on issues."

It also showed a man who "understands that his nation, like our nation, can
and might very well be threatened by weapons of mass destruction in the hands
of nations that distrust us and dislike us."

The two men directed their foreign and defence ministers to work with each
other to begin discussing what Bush called "a new security framework."

Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, who acted as notetaker
for the one-on-one meeting, said afterwards that the two men "only talked
about this issue for a period of time," but that she believed the Russians
were "open to discussions."

"So we believe that there is a new security framework to be had. Its form is
really up for discussion," she said.

DIFFERENCES OVER MISSILE DEFENCE

Bush and Putin went into the meeting at loggerheads over missile defence.
U.S. officials have floated ideas such as unilateral nuclear arms reductions,
and arms purchases as an enticement for Russia to drop its objections.

Such sweeteners did not come up. "We didn't have a bargaining session," Bush
said.

He said he raised with Putin the issue of Iran gaining nuclear technology
from Russia, Putin said he was concerned too, but no promises in this regard
were evident.

They found common ground in an unlikely place: the naming of their daughters.
Bush named his two daughters after his mother and mother-in-law. Putin said
he had done the same.

And Putin introduced a touch of comedy when asked about NATO expansion. He
brought the news conference to a dead silence to refer to a document, then
told reporters it was from 1954 in which the Soviet leadership announced its
intention to enter into discussions about participating in NATO. This was
deep into the Cold War.

The point is, said Putin, Russia did not consider NATO an enemy organisation.
And he said he was glad to hear Bush say that NATO did not consider Russia an
enemy.

"We value this," he said.

The former Texas oilman and the one-time KGB spy also discussed hot spots
like the Middle East and the Balkans. Bush told Reuters he did not raise the
issue of the Baltic states entering NATO, which Russia opposes.

Aides had played down the chances of any formal agreements, saying the
session was more a chance for the two to size each other up than to spar over
detailed policies.

Eighteen activists from the environmental group Greenpeace were arrested
outside the U.S. embassy in Ljubljana after two scaled a fence and tried to
replace the U.S. flag with a banner reading "Stop Star Wars.

*******

#2
Bush and Putin Chat in English
June 16, 2001
By SNJEZANA VUKIC

BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia (AP) - They weren't just pretending.

During an outdoor stroll in the middle of Saturday's summit talks, President
Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin shed their respective translators,
giving photographers a clean picture of just the two of them.

As the pair continued to chatting, some wondered if it was all show. A
skeptical Russian journalist asked Putin in what language he and Bush had
conversed.

``In English,'' Putin beamed.

Putin speaks fluent German from his days as a KGB agent in East Germany, but
only recently began English lessons.

Putin, who has likened his English studies to ``intellectual gymnastics,''
had also tried out a few phrases on President Clinton when he visited Moscow
in June 2000.

There was no indication Bush spoke any Russian.

At their joint news conference, Bush and Putin gushed compliments at each
other - both giants of diplomacy, according to Bush.

Bush recounted a scene from their private talks inside Brdo Castle:

Putin had noted that the 19-year-old twin Bush daughters, Barbara and Jenna,
were named, respectively, after Bush's mother and mother-in-law.

Bush: ``Yes, I'm a great diplomat, aren't I?''

Putin, who has two teen-age daughters himself: I did the same thing.

Bush: ``Mr. President, you're a fine diplomat, as well.''

Putin's elder Maria is named for his mother. His mother-in-law had to wait
for her own namesake, Yekaterina, who was born a year after Maria.

In the Slovene capital of Ljubljana, 18 miles away from the Alpine castle
where Bush and Putin met, riot police stared down nearly 1,000
anti-globalization protesters who had marched to the Russian embassy.

A lone woman stood defiantly in front of an encroaching police convoy of two
armored cars and a water cannon.

In the end, police fired not a squirt.

After 2 1/2 hours, the protesters grew bored and left.

Slovene officials were proud to have come up with an ingenious poster
advertising the summit: the two leaders' names. In the Cyrillic alphabet,
which is used in Russia, Putin's name ends a letter than looks like an ``h.''

Posters around Ljubljana featured Bush's name spelled horizontally in the
Latin alphabet and Putin's vertically in Cyrillic - and sharing the final
letter.

Protesters expressing their opposition to Bush's policies on global warming
and missile defense did not miss the chance to mock the president for his
problems with names and for his lack of international experience.

During protests in Ljubljana, anti-Bush activists carried banners reading
``Welcome to Slovakia.'' During the election campaign, Bush confused Slovenia
with the other small Central European country.

*******

#3
Bush, Putin off to a good start
By MARTIN WALKER, UPI Chief International Correspondent

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia, June 16 (UPI) -- Farewell to the Bill and Boris show.
And hello to the meaningful communion of two trim and serious middle-aged
men in suits who talk of their daughters and share values and even claim to
have looked into each other's souls.

The new George and Vlad show opened at the Slovenia summit, and looks set
for a promising run on the international stage. And if there were no Bill
and Boris-style bear hugs, there were manly two-handed handshakes,
invitations to each other's homes, and an excellent start to the personal
relationship between the two men who will rule the White House and the
Kremlin for the next four years.

Bush and Putin each came to Slovenia determined to get their relationship
off to a good and friendly start, to establish a personal chemistry that
could prove as useful, if less spectacular, than the relationship forged
between their predecessors, Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin.

That, for each man, was more important than any niggling negotiations
over the big and serious issues where they remain a long way apart.

The details will be left to the intensive new round of Cabinet-level
discussions they agreed to start. This may not be called the
Gore-Chernomyrdin commission, after the high-level team of vice president
and prime minister that Clinton and Yeltsin established to steer the
relationship. But with Secretary of State Colin Powell, Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Commerce Secretary
Donald Evans all ordered to Moscow to start work, it sounds like an echo of
what Bill and Boris tried to do.

The details, of course, is where the devil is said to reside, as
Rumsfeld keeps saying at the Pentagon whenever the Europeans come to assure
him that their new Rapid Reaction Force could never undermine NATO. And his
counterpart, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, was the same hard-liner
who delivered the uncompromising Kremlin 'nyet' on American missile defense
plans at the annual Wehrkunde strategic conference in Munich in February.
Rumsfeld attended that conference, too, but decided to leave for home before
Ivanov rose to speak. The chemistry between those two defense chiefs is
going to be lot tougher than that between their presidents.

Equally, it is not immediately obvious what Treasury Secretary O'Neill
will do in Moscow, after last week's example of what passes in Russia for
high-level debate on economic policy. Discussing the new bill on the private
ownership of land in the Duma, Russia's parliament, one elected delegate
head-butted another and the discussions became a general brawl.

Bush's concept of economic life in Moscow also seemed somewhat flawed
when he noted at his post-summit news conference: ''I was so impressed that
he (Putin) was able to simplify his tax code, bringing in a flat tax.'' That
is true, at least on paper, although the Russian tax police carry rather
more submachine guns than the briefcases of the American Internal Revenue
Service, and banking competition in the United States is not usually
conducted with plastic explosives. The secretaries for Commerce and the
Treasury are in for interesting times.

Their difficulties in carrying out the vague instructions of the two
leaders were seen at this opening round of the Bush-Putin relationship as
secondary. The priority, after a troubled start of mutual espionage
expulsions and snipings over arms sales, was to establish a warm and
cooperative tone. This Bush and Putin were determined to do.

''I believe his (Putin's) leadership will serve Russia well,'' said Bush.

''Our meeting will put an end to the reports of a relationship
overburdened with problems,'' said Putin.

''We have to move beyond suspicion and toward straight talk,'' said Bush.
''We have to get beyond mutual assured destruction and toward mutual armed
respect.''

''The differences between us are much less than what unites us,'' said
Putin. ''Our differences are not of a fundamental nature, not at all.''

But as the congratulations began to flow aboard Air Force One on Bush's
long flight home, and senior staff who had been nervous of Bush's baptism of
fire on the internal stage could breathe sighs of relief, it was clear that
that real mission had been a great success.

Bush had shown that he could make friends in Europe, get on with the
testy and tree-hugging Socialists who still dominate the European Union,
deliver an inspirational speech in Warsaw, and still have energy left over
to launch the George and Vlad show on its four-year run.

*******

#4
Press Conference By President Bush And Russian Federation President Putin

WASHINGTON, June 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a transcript of a
press conference by President Bush And Russian Federation President Putin

Brdo Castle
Brdo Pri Kranju, Slovenia
5:30 P.M. (Local)

PRESIDENT BUSH: Good afternoon. President Putin and I have just concluded
two hours of straightforward and productive meetings. We had a good
discussion of our views of Russian-American relations, and of the changing
world at the beginnings of this new century.

Our countries have common interests and we share responsibilities. My
meeting with President Putin today is an important step in building a
constructive, respectful relationship with Russia -- a relationship that has
the potential to benefit not only our two countries, but also the world.

Russia is an important country, with vast potential. When Russia and the
United States work together in a constructive way, we can make the world a
safer and more prosperous place.

I enjoyed the opportunity to meet President Putin in person for the first
time. I am convinced that he and I can build a relationship of mutual
respect and candor. And I'm convinced that it's important for the world that
we do so.

More than a decade after the Cold War ended it is time to move beyond
suspicion and towards straight talk; beyond mutually assured destruction and
toward mutually earned respect. As we work together to address the world as
it is, not as it used to be, it is important that we not only talk
differently, we also must act differently.

We have great opportunities to cooperate on economic, commercial, regional
and security issues. President Putin and I have agreed to launch an
extensive dialogue about a wide range of issues that we can constructively
address together. We also discussed the importance of sound investment
climate to improve Russia's future economic prosperity.

I was so impressed that he was able to simplify his tax code in Russia, with
a flat tax. I'm not so sure I'll have the same success with our Congress.

We must continue a dialogue, so I'm prepared to send both Secretary O'Neill
and Secretary Evans to Moscow soon to further our discussions. I want to
encourage Russian and American businesses to become more involved in our
discussions, so that together, we can foster meaningful investments.
President Putin agrees with this approach.

And we've agreed to launch regular detailed and serious consultations on the
nature of our security relationship. I said to President Putin that we need
a new approach for a new era, an approach that protects both our peoples and
strengthens deterrence by exploring and developing our new attitudes towards
defenses and missile defenses. I've directed Secretary of State Powell and
Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to work with their Russian counterparts, to
begin discussing a new security framework.

I have invited President Putin to Washington this fall. He accepted. He
invited me to Russia, and I accepted. And I look forward to the visit.

We also agreed to continue our cooperation and work toward common solutions
on important regional issues, from the Balkans to Nagorno-Karabakh to
Afghanistan. And we discussed our common interest in developing the energy
resources of the Caspian Basin in a way that benefits all the countries of
the region.

Respectful relations require honesty. And we did discuss areas where my
country has differences with Russia -- over Chechnya, and over media
relations. I also expressed my hope that Russia will develop constructive
relations with its neighbors, like Georgia, that are trying to find their own
way in a challenging, but hopeful world.

This was a very good meeting. And I look forward to my next meeting with
President Putin in July. I very much enjoyed our time together. He's an
honest, straightforward man who loves his country. He loves his family. We
share a lot of values. I view him as a remarkable leader. I believe his
leadership will serve Russia well. Russia and America have the opportunity
to accomplish much together; we should seize it. And today, we have begun.

And, finally, I'm especially pleased we're able to have this meeting in
Slovenia, one of the success stories of Southeast Europe.

In my meetings today with the President and the Prime Minister, I reaffirmed
America's support for Slovenia's integration with Europe and the
Euro-Atlantic community. I especially thank the people of Slovenia, and I
want to thank the leadership for such warm hospitality, and congratulate the
people on the 10th anniversary of its independence on June the 25th.

I only regret not staying long enough to see Lake Bled or to climb Mount
Triglav. Who knows, maybe I'll have the opportunity down the road.

Mr. President.

PRESIDENT PUTIN: First of all, I wanted to confirm everything that's been
said by President Bush when he characterized our meeting. I could even add
that I was counting on an open, frank dialogue, confidential dialogue. But
in this regard, as they say in cases like this, reality was a lot bigger than
expectations. Because this was not only a confidential discussion, but all
the way to more than what you could expect from frankness, because President
Bush, as a person who has studied history, proposed a very global, wide-scale
approach and view to history. And it was very interesting and positive.

We sat, talked about the past, about the present, about the future of our
countries and about the development of the situation in the world for many
years into the future. This was really a very interesting discussion. I
think that we found a good basis to start building on our cooperation. We're
counting on a pragmatic relationship between Russia and the United States.

We compared our approaches in key areas. And, once again, we established our
common ground. I want to return now to what the President said very recently
-- that Russia and the United States are not enemies, they do not threaten
each other, and they could be fully good allies. And taking into account the
fact that the United States and the Russian Federation, as no one else, as no
other country of the world, have accumulated huge amounts of nuclear weapons,
weapons of mass destruction, we bear a special responsibility for maintaining
the common peace and security in the world, for building a new architecture
of security in the world.

All of this presupposes a very close cooperation for strengthening security
in the 21st century. And saying this, any unilateral actions can only make
more complicated various problems and issues.

One of the central topics of our discussion was the strengthening of
strategic stability. We exchanged our views on our approaches. It was very
important for me to hear how and what the President of the United States
thinks, and to hear directly from him.

In turn, naturally, I expressed the approaches of Russia in this sphere. The
differences in approaches do exist and, naturally, in one short moment it's
impossible to overcome all of them. But I am convinced that ahead of us we
have a constructive dialogue and the will to talk about these topics, to
discuss, to hear, to listen -- to listen and to hear each other. And to my
mind, this is very important.

The President and I have agreed that we're going to tell our Ministers of
Defense, Secretaries of Defense, Foreign Ministers, to continue in this vein,
to continue this discussion, without any pauses.

Of course, we discussed some very difficult regional issues -- the Near East
and Afghanistan and the Balkans. I have to say that this discussion showed
that the differences in our approaches in the very fundamental areas are much
less than that which unites us. The differences in our positions, positions
of the two countries, really are not of a fundamental nature, a global
nature, something which cannot be solved -- not at all. I think that it
would be very incorrect for us to start forcing out issues and arguments, and
not take into account the very fundamental, main concepts and issues in our
relationship, which are the basis and the whole foundation of the
relationship between the Russian Federation and the United States of America.

The President and I are united in saying that the economic ties between our
two countries do not correspond to the potential of our two countries. The
government of the Russian Federation, businessmen of both countries and the
U.S. administration of course can do a lot more to support the effectiveness
of our economic ties. And the President expressed that we need an additional
impulse from our businessmen, that we will do everything possible to receive
a very high-level business delegation of the United States to Russia;
moreover, especially if it is headed by one of the senior officials of the
U.S. administration.

Here there are a lot of very specific issues. We talked about energy
resources; we talked about using the Caspian Basin. You know, very soon the
new pipeline system is going to go into effect, which is going to be
transporting energy resources from the Caspian region through Novie Russkie.
And this is a joint project of two companies, Russian and American companies.
I'm sure that this will not be the last such project.

I want to stress here that the issues that were discussed at Ljubljana are
going to be the subject of our continuing dialogue. And we really, in fact,
did agree that we're going to talk in Genoa, we're going to talk in Shanghai
at the APEC Conference. And I'm very grateful to the President of the United
States for inviting me to the United States. I would do it with great
pleasure, especially because he invited to have me over at his ranch. And
I'm going to receive him in my own home, not just in Russia, but in my own
home.

And the last. In the last few months, and at the very threshold of our
meeting, there was a lot of discussion about the fact the U.S.-Russian
relations are overburdened by problems and issues that are somehow reaching a
critical stage. I think the very nature and the result of our discussion
today between myself and the President of the United States will put an end
to all of these rumors. We see very clearly a very prospect of our
relationship in the future. And we are all geared up to work in the future
constructively, pragmatically, and to establish very good, predictable
relationship.

And, of course, I cannot but say the very highest about the hospitality of
our hosts, who provided us with all the conditions necessary for holding this
very good meeting -- good, moral atmosphere. Thank you. Thank you ever so
much.

MODERATOR: Dear colleagues, we have said that we're going to give the first
opportunity to ask a question to journalists from Slovenia, please.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I don't think the interpreter could have done it in English,
but anyway, go ahead.

Q On the next summit in Prague, where, according to Lord Robertson,
enlargement will happen, and what is the Russian position on enlargement?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I went to my first NATO summit, and there appears to be a
uniform desire to expand NATO. This is certainly the position of my country.
But as I reminded the leaders today, that there is a process, and the
countries must work toward that process. I am impressed by the progress
being made in this country, and we will take that under consideration when we
meet in Prague a year from this fall.

Q A question for you, Mr. Putin. You're leaving from Slovenia, straight
to Belgrade. Do you have any concrete solutions for the Balkan crisis?

PRESIDENT PUTIN: As I understand you, what you have in mind is the situation
in the region.

Yes, it's working. It's working. It's good to have dealings with effective
people that make things work.

As I understand it, what you have in mind is the overall situation in the
Balkans, right? Macedonia, Kosovo, et cetera, right? Well, we do have our
own idea, vision of what's happening here and how we should act.

Today we did discuss with the President of the United States, Mr. Bush. The
most important things that we have to really pay attention to is to put an
effective block, an end to any kind of extremism and feelings of intolerance
-- religious intolerance. People who are trying to solve, no matter how
complex an issue of national or ethnic or religious conflict -- weapons
simply are not those kinds of things which can solve these problems.

In some of the countries of the former Soviet Union, for instance -- you
probably know, we talk about this very often -- in the Baltic states, for
instance, we feel that human rights are damaged, especially of the ethnic
Russian populations. In Latvia, for instance, 40 percent of the population
is Russian-speaking -- a huge number of non-citizens -- in other words,
people who can't even get citizenship. We don't send weapons there. We
don't support those people. We don't call it terrorism. We don't try to get
people to rise up on the basis of national or ethnic origin or religious
feelings. We don't encourage people to take up arms to fight against it.

I stress against, and I insist that people who try to do this do not deserve
the support of the international community. But, on the contrary, the
international community must say once and for all, everybody who does this
will receive -- answer. These things can only be solved through
negotiations. This is a very difficult process, it requires patience, but
there is no other way.

Q A question to both of you, if I may. President Putin, President Bush
has said that he's going to go forward with his missile defense plans
basically with or without your blessing. Are you unyielding in your
opposition to his missile defense plan? Is there anything you can do to stop
it?

And to President Bush. Did President Putin ease your concern at all about
the spread of nuclear technologies by Russia, and is this a man that
Americans can trust?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes. Do you want to go first?

PRESIDENT PUTIN: Now, as far as the issue of antimissile defense, the
official position of the Russian government is known. I don't think we need
to spend time to yet again declare it. We proceed from the idea that the
1972 ABM Treaty is the cornerstone of the modern architecture of
international security. We proceed from the premise that there are elements
which unite us with our partners in the United States.

When we hear about things like concerns of the future and about threats from
the future, we do agree that together, we have to sit down and have a good
think about this. But we proceed from the idea that these concerns and
threats are different kinds of things. Threats have to be defined. We have
to look at where they come from and then make some decisions as to how we
have to counter them.

We feel that we can do it best together. Based upon today's dialogue, I've
come to the conclusion, and the impression, that we might have a very
constructive development here in this arena; at least the President of the
United States listened carefully. He listens to our arguments very
carefully. But I think the specialists, as I have said before, have to sit
down, have contact to identify the overall platform that we're going to work
from, and try to find a way together to solve these problems.

Now, as far as the issues of proliferation and nonproliferation, I have to
say that in our opinion, this is a topic that's very, very closely tied to
the ABM Treaty, because many other things are hooked onto this same string,
and many threshold states, when it comes to the destruction of a previous
accord, can only be happy and say, look, fantastic. Yesterday, we were
threshold, nobody agreed -- nobody took any account of us; now, today,
recognize us. This is a problem we're going to have to really think very
hard about.

Can we trust Russia? I'm not going to answer that. I could ask the very
same question.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We
had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul; a man
deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country. And I
appreciated so very much the frank dialogue.

There was no kind of diplomatic chit-chat, trying to throw each other off
balance. There was a straightforward dialogue. And that's the beginning of
a very constructive relationship. I wouldn't have invited him to my ranch if
I didn't trust him. (Laughter.)

Secondly, I appreciate the opportunity to be able to talk about a new
relationship, and we will continue these dialogues. The basis for my
discussion began with this simple premise: that Russia and the United States
must establish a new relationship beyond that of the old Cold War mentality.
The Cold War said loud and clear that we're opponents and that we bring the
peace through ability for each of us to destroy each other.

Friends don't destroy each other. People who cooperate do not have a basis
of peace on destruction. Our nations are confronted with new threats in the
21st century. Terror in the hands of what we call rogue nations is a threat.
I expressed my concern, and so did the President, very openly, about nations
on his border and nations that can't stand America's freedoms developing the
capacity to hold each of us hostage. And he agreed.

I brought up concerns about Iran. And I'm hesitant to put words in the
President's mouth, but he said he's concerned, as well -- I think that
accurately categorizes your position -- and we'll work together to stop the
spread of weapons of mass destruction. And I believe as we go down the road
that we'll be able to develop a constructive relationship as to how to use
our technologies and research and willingness to keep the peace, in a way
that makes the world more peaceful.

I was so pleased that we were able to begin constructive, real dialogue
between our Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and Mr. Andrei Ivanov. These will
be fruitful discussions, and I believe what people will see is a strategy, a
joint strategy. The President's a history major, and so am I. And we
remember the old history. It's time to right new history, in a positive and
constructive way.

Q This is a question to both Presidents, if you allow. Mr. Bush, you
partially answered -- you talked about issues of strategic security, you
talked about the future. In this connection, could you tell us anything
about what you talked about in the expansion of NATO? Thank you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: -- to expand, so long as nations met their obligations and
fulfilled their -- met what's called the MAP process. I said yesterday in
Poland, I felt like a secure border for Russia, a border with safe and
friendly nations, is positive. And I expressed my government's position very
plainly. And the President, of course, had a reaction, which I'm sure he'll
give you right now.

I thought he was going to give it to you right now. (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT PUTIN: Yes, I'm going to lay it out for you. I'm going to lay it
out for you. Look, I'm going to read to you something which was recently
de-classified. Speaking for myself -- look this was printed a while back,
but there's a document -- attached addendum documents which were secret.
Copy declassified. It was top secret. Look, here it is. This is a note of
the Soviet government from 1954, sent to the countries of NATO. Here's what
it says: The leadership, holding to its inalienable policy and taking into
account all the tensions, this Soviet government announces its intention to
enter into discussions with NATO countries about its participation in NATO,
with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

And this was the answer -- look, here's the answer: the Soviet government
proposed -- they were talking about the widening of the NATO pact and what
they're going to do about bringing the Soviet Union in. There is no need to
stress the completely unrealistic nature of such a proposal from the Soviet
Union. That's the answer that NATO gave.

So what we're talking about here, you remember about a year ago I think
somebody asked a question about, what's your attitude, is it possible that
Russia is going to join in NATO or not. I said, why not? And right away,
Mrs. Albright, former Secretary of State -- she was some place on a trip to
Europe -- she said, look, we're not talking about this right now.

Look, you understand that our attitude toward NATO was not one toward an
enemy organization; of course not. And I'm very grateful to the President of
the United States that finally, from the territory of the United States,
these words were heard. This is very important for us. We value this. When
a President of a great power says that he wants to see Russia as a partner,
and maybe even as an ally, this is worth so much to us.

But if that's the case, then, look, we ask ourselves a question: Look, this
is a military organization. Yes, it's military. They don't want us there,
they don't want us there. It's moving towards our border. Yes, it's moving
towards our border. Why?

So this is the foundation of all our concerns. Not just to bring it in, or
not bring it in, or accept NATO or not accept NATO. Look, the positive
feeling that we now have developed today with President Bush, this could be a
separate subject of discussion. Because you know Russia is cooperating with
NATO, we have an agreement; we have association; we have various accords and
treaties -- and there's no need to fire up this whole situation.

Q Mr. President, did you offer President Putin any inducements in this
conversation to ease his opposition to a U.S. missile defense plan?

And, President Putin, to follow up on your comments just now, does the simple
fact of President Bush saying that Russia is not an enemy actually change
your strategic or military planning?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I offered something: Logic. And a hopeful tomorrow. I
offered the opportunity, which the President is going to seize, for us, as
leaders of great powers, to work together.

We have a unique opportunity to address the true threats of the 21st century
-- together. We have a great moment during our tenures to cast aside the
suspicions and doubts that used to plague our nations. And I'm committed to
do so.

I said in Poland, and I'll say it again: Russia is not the enemy of the
United States. As a matter of fact, after our meeting today, I'm convinced
it can be a strong partner and friend; more so than people could imagine.

The leader of Russia is working hard on behalf of his people to promote
prosperity and peace. And I believe our nations can work together to achieve
prosperity and peace not only within our respective countries, but around the
world. I believe that.

And so we didn't have a bargaining session. We had a session of two men who
have come to office for the right purpose: not only to represent our
countries, but given our standing, our respective standings, to work together
to deal with the threats of the 21st century: A threat of the 21st century
is energy. A threat of the 21st century is poverty. A threat of the 21st
century is the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

And as the President said to me clearly, he said that, you're not the only
nation that cares about weapons of mass destruction; we care. And we have an
opportunity to do that. We have an opportunity to reject extremists that
could threaten our respective nations and respect our -- and threaten our
alliances. And we will do so. We will do so.

And today has been a very constructive day. Everybody is trying to read body
language -- mark me down as very pleased with the progress and the frank
discussion. We will meet again in July, then later in the fall. Then we'll
have the great Crawford, Texas Summit. And I believe that people who watch
carefully our relationship will see that it grows and emerges. It starts
with trust. Ron asked a great question: can I trust him? And I can. And
from that basis we can begin a very fruitful relationship.

Q So there were no specific -- that you offered in this meeting, just
logic?

PRESIDENT BUSH: We did not -- well, first of all, our relationship is larger
than just security relationships. It's bigger than figuring out how to deal
with the ABM Treaty, it's much bigger than that. It deals with two leaders
who share values.

The President told me something very interesting. He said, I read where you
named your daughters after your mother and your mother-in-law. And I said,
yes, I'm a great diplomat, aren't I? (Laughter.) And he said, I did the same
thing. (Laughter.) I said, Mr. President, you're a fine diplomat, as well.
We share our love for our families. We've got common interests. And from
that basis we will seize the moment to make a difference in the world. That's
why he ran for the presidency, and it's why I ran for the presidency.

This is not a bargaining session. The President didn't say, you know, if you
do this, I'll do that. It's bigger than that. It's a bigger relationship
than that, and it's important to understand that.

Q Question on whether the simple fact of President Bush saying that you
are no longer -- the United States is not your enemy actually changes your
military thinking or your strategic thinking and planning?

PRESIDENT PUTIN: This is not a question; I think this has become an
interview. (Laughter.) But, look, nonetheless, I'll respond. It's not by
accident that I said that's it's important for us. And it seems to me that
if you start with a mutual understanding that we are partners, that's the way
we're going to move, to try to solve this very important issue.

Look, we didn't just sit down and say that our specialists are going to meet,
and they're going to have an exchange of views. But we agreed that they're
going to discuss very specific questions which cause concern to both sides.
Very specific items. I'm not prepared right now to get into this publicly,
but we're talking about specifics.

Moreover, I have to say that between Russia and the United States, we have
two protocols that we signed on non-strategic ABM systems -- in New York, and
I think it was in Helsinki. And this, too, is a subject of very special
review. I think the specialists should define all these things. Again, I
define -- I repeat -- define the threats and those things which just stand in
the way; to look at the power that both countries have to neutralize these
threats. I think we can work out a common approach.

Q To both Presidents, if you allow. Getting back to trade and economic
issues, ties between our two countries, how soon do you think we can expect a
delegation of American businessmen to Moscow? And do you have any plans on
creating an intergovernmental commission of various agencies, which could
stimulate economic ties between the United States and Russia? Thank you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I'll talk to the Secretary of Commerce as soon as I get back
and tell him of our agreement and get him moving. Sometimes I worry a little
bit about commissions. If commissions exist just to exist, then I don't
think it's fruitful. If commissions exist in order to stimulate action, then
perhaps.

Let me say one other area where the United States is in agreement with
Russia. We think Russia ought to be admitted into the World Trade
Organization. And we'll work toward that end. The Russian President has
expressed a desire to join the WTO, and I think it makes sense. I think that
will help a lot. And there's a lot of areas in our business relationships.

I reminded the President that oftentimes, people speak in terms of -- they
say Russia is a country of great resources, only referring to the energy
resources, the mining resources, the timber resources. That's true. But
Russia has got a resource that's invaluable in this new era, and that's
brainpower. Russia's got great mathematicians and engineers who can just as
easily participate in the high-tech world as American engineers and American
mathematicians. And that's an area of great interest to me, and it's an area
of great interest to the President. It's an area where we can begin a
fruitful dialogue. The deployment of capital is something that's very
important to Russia; it's important to our businessmen. The President
understands it's important to have rule of law, a reasonable tax system,
transparency in the economy. And he's working toward that, and I am
grateful. Our businessmen and our Secretary of Commerce will hear that when
they travel to Russia.

PRESIDENT PUTIN: You know, I agree with the President in that to overload
our relationship by a variety of bureaucratic structures and organizations,
that's not always justified. The most important thing is to create favorable
conditions for effective work by the business community. We know the plans
of President Bush with respect to his taxation policy and with respect to
other measures which he is planning, with respect to the economy of the
United States.

From our part, we still have to do so much that would make Russia attractive
for foreign investors. Although among international investors, the Americans
are in first place. Naturally, first and foremost, we have to take care of
the issues of the energy problem in the world at large. American business is
showing a great interest in this sphere.

But we also know that President Bush has plans in the atomic energy field.
Here, too, we think we've got a couple of things we could talk about. We
have a very fruitful area of cooperation we could work in. We have a number
of various structures that are working very appropriately now in reprocessing
uranium. We've got pretty good cooperation in space now. It seems to me
that to a significant extent, that which exists now, it is functioning very
successfully now. The Space Station, the International Space Station and the
participation of the United States and Russia. We have so many other areas
we'd like to work in. But when the businessmen come -- that depends, of
course, on the U.S. side -- but we'll receive them at any time that's
appropriate to them.

END 6:15 P.M. (Local)

*******

#5
Transcript of June 16 White House Press Briefing by Secretary of State Powell
and National Security Advizor Rice

WASHINGTON, June 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a transcript of a
press briefing by Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security
Advisor Condoleezza Rice

Hotel Korsk
Brdo Pri Kranju, Slovenia
6:30 P.M. (L)

SECRETARY POWELL: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Dr. Rice and I are
pleased to be with you, to spend a few moments answering your questions.

I just might begin by saying that I believe today's meeting between President
Bush and President Putin was a fitting capstone to the Week of Europe, as we
call it in the National Security Council and State Department, where
President Bush had a chance to travel widely across the continent, beginning
in Spain, where we reinforced the bilateral relationship that we have with
Spain; continuing on to NATO, where he had the opportunity at the North
Atlantic council for the first time to meet with all his fellow heads in
government -- government and state of NATO, and to explain his thoughts with
respect to America's continuing role in Europe, to emphasize the fact that we
went into the Balkans together and we will come out together; to have an
opportunity to express his ideas on a strategic framework for the future -- a
future that is quite different than the past we have come out of, as we have
come out of the Cold War era.

And then on to Goteborg, where he had a chance to meet with members of the
European Union, and they had frank discussions with respect to global climate
change. And then on down to Warsaw, where in a remarkable day yesterday we
saw an outpouring of affection and support, not just for the President, but
for Polish-U.S. relations. And I think the President gave a landmark speech
yesterday, with respect to our belief in the future of Europe and the fact
that we seek no enemies and there are no enemies, in our view, any longer,
behind what used to be the Iron Curtain.

And then, finally, here today, where these two gentlemen had the chance to
take the measure of each other, to express their hopes and aspirations
concerning the future of the relationship between Russia and the United
States.

So I think it's been an excellent week and I'm glad it ended in this very,
very fine way, here in Slovenia. And let me express our appreciation to the
authorities, the leaders here in Slovenia for the hospitality they've
extended to us.

The meeting was about an hour and 40 minutes, just the two of them, with
interpreters and note-takers. And Dr. Rice was a note-taker, so she has much
more information and insight as to the meeting than I did -- or, I do -- I
was in a separate meeting with Foreign Minister Inanov, and then we
assembled, all of us, in a final short plenary meeting of about 15 minutes.

With that, I would invite your questions and Dr. Rice and I will field them,
depending on the nature of the question.

Q Mr. Secretary, your career was spent, as you've noted, in a time of blue
lines and red lines on the map. I wonder if you could tell us what kind of a
moment it was for you when Putin read that 1954 directive, and what it said
to you about the prospects for future NATO-Russia cooperation?

SECRETARY POWELL: Well, I think there is every opportunity for future
NATO-Russia cooperation. I did spend most of my life looking at the red side
of the map from the blue side of the map, separated by an Iron Curtain. But
some years ago, I had Dr. Rice's job, and I watched that whole thing
disappear. And I watched the world become a mosaic of changing colors and
parts.

And now I am so pleased to be the Secretary of State as I see that change
continue, and I look forward to a productive relationship with Russia. There
is no reason, as both Presidents noted, that we cannot be friends, that we
cannot be partners, that we cannot cooperate in a number of different
spheres, that we can't help each other move forward into the 21st century.

So as an old soldier, I was deeply moved by not only the activities of today,
the meetings of today, but everything I have seen this week. I have been
this week in places that used to just be on my target list in the old days.
And now they are part of a free Europe, a Europe founded on democratic
principles and values, and I'm pleased that I'm still around to be a part of
it.

Q Sir, can you tell us, when do you intend to start your consultations
with Mr. Ivanov on the new security framework, and this will include missile
defense?

SECRETARY POWELL: We'll begin rather quickly. Foreign Minister Ivanov and I
will have overall responsibility for it, but there will be parts underneath
that where the Defense Department will be our lead agency working directly
with their ministry of defense. And Dr. Rice and I will set up our committees
in consultation with Minister Ivanov and Minister Ivanov, and I would hope to
see these consultations begin as quickly as possible.

So we're anxious to move ahead. And Foreign Minister Ivanov and I talked
about it again today. I don't have a specific date for you.

Q Mr. Secretary, to paraphrase President Putin, he said the 1972 ABM
Treaty lies at the center, or the cornerstone, in his words, of the modern
architecture of arms control. Can you give us a sense -- we had a pretty good
sense before this meeting -- how wide the gap was between the two countries
on that issue? Did it narrow any significantly today, and how do you go from
here?

SECRETARY POWELL: I think I may ask Dr. Rice to talk to this, because she was
in the room. But I think both sides laid out their position. I don't share
President Putin's view that it remains at the center of the entire arms
control structure or the entire strategic framework that exists between our
two nations.

It was a treaty that was written for the time of the red and the blue map of
30-odd years ago, and I think it is quite appropriate, in light of a new
world, in light of changed circumstances, to review anything that is from
that era to see if it is still relevant, and why not talk about changing it.

It was interesting that President Putin made that point, but he also said,
now let's get into a dialogue to see what it is that we think should be
updated. So at the same time that he held his position, he also invited
dialogue.

Q Dr. Rice, if you would expand on that, please?

DR. RICE: Yes. I would also say that there was a great deal of interest on
the Russian side and the question of new and common threats, and I think a
desire to explore that further. As you know, President Putin has said
publicly several times that he believes that there are new threats, and that
was expressed again today in the meeting with the President.

He also said in his press conference, a new security architecture. And so I
think we'll have serious consultations, discussions about what constitutes
now that new security architecture. But I think there is an openness to
dialogue, there is an openness to discussion, and I felt that they
established a very good basis to move forward.

Q On that dialogue, did the gap close any in the differences of opinion on
the ABM Treaty and its centrality?

DR. RICE: Well, as the Secretary said, they had an hour and 40 minutes
together, and then an additional 15 minutes. But they covered a wide variety
of subjects. It would be a mistake to think that even the bulk of this
conversation was about missile defense or the ABM Treaty; it was not. It was
about a whole wide range of issues. This was one small part of the
discussion, and they did not try, as the President said, to get into a
negotiating session about trying to close the gap.

But I think it is also important to note that they gave experts -- both the
Secretaries of the Foreign Ministry and State and the Defense Secretaries --
a desire to go now and talk about concrete issues.

Q Dr. Rice and Secretary Powell, during the campaign, Bush seemed to be
very skeptical about Russia, especially compared to the Clinton
administration, and critical of the way the Clinton administration tended to
personalize relations between the countries, and embodied in their two
leaders.

It seemed today that we were witnessing a personalization of diplomacy in a
way that maybe you criticized in the past. I'm wondering, I mean, they seem
to have had a very warm meeting, they talked about how they trusted each
other. How do you look at that now? And, also, any other atmospherics for
those magazine writers in the room that you could provide would be great.

DR. RICE: Doing the work for all of you, all right? (Laughter.)

On the issue of personalization, no one has ever said that it's not a good
thing for the President of Russia and the President of the United States to
have a good, warm relationship, to be able to look each other in the eye and
to expect each other to be straightforward. That was never the issue.

The issue was whether or not the United States started to equate reform with
Boris Yeltsin. And I think you heard something very important, actually, from
President Putin that I don't remember hearing earlier in the history of
U.S.-Russian relations, because he took full responsibility for creating
conditions in Russia in which economic capital would begin to flow to Russia.

He talked about the work that Russia had to do. And I think that the United
States can clearly try to be a partner; the United States can be supportive;
we can send the Secretary of Commerce and Treasury and trade representatives
and support Russia in WTO accession when it is ready. But we cannot do the
Russian's work for them. And I think that was the tone of this meeting.

This President has been very clear that he wants a good relationship with
President Putin, but that he's going to be realistic both about those things
about which we agree and those things about which we disagree. And he did so,
the two of them, in an atmosphere that was respectful and, frankly, quite
straightforward.

Q Did you hear in anything President Putin said or as what we're seeing
emerges, the possibility that there could be some kind of agreement and
embrace of the ABM that would allow us to do what we want and would allow
them to have the sort of reassurances that they seem to --

DR. RICE: Well, Frank, as I said, they only talked about this issue for a
period of time with the President kind of allaying out a vision. But I do
believe that they are open to discussions and I believe that both the
Secretary and I have said to you that we are open to discussions about what
constitutes the new security framework.

We are quite convinced that it's time for the world to move on, pass the ABM
Treaty, to deal with the new threats, to deal with offensive reductions,
defensive forces that can contribute to deterrence and new nonproliferation
efforts. And, by the way, they did spend a good deal of time on
nonproliferation issues.

And so we believe that there is a new security framework to be had. Its form
is really up for discussion. And I think they set in course a very high level
set of discussions to get that done.

Q I'm wondering what kind of talk there was between the two Presidents on
actually reducing nuclear arsenals?

DR. RICE: Again, they did not talk in specifics. The President laid out the
framework that you have heard him lay out. President Putin listened, said
that he looked forward to further discussions. But they didn't get into
details.

Q Did they agree on the basic idea that it was important to reduce nuclear
arsenals on a general level?

DR. RICE: Well, I think we have known for some time that the Russian
Federation feels strongly that nuclear reductions are in its interest, and
the President has made clear that he believes that getting to a level that is
consistent with our deterrent needs is important to us. So I don't think that
there was anything there to bridge.

Q Dr. Rice, Mr. Secretary, when President Putin said today that he agreed
with President Bush that the U.S. and Russia can be good allies, is that
meant, allies in the sense that the members of NATO are allies?

SECRETARY POWELL: Let's call it small "a." I think he was talking in terms of
a partnership, friends, countries that could get together, that have mutual
and shared interests, that can work together. I don't think he was talking
about an alliance in the sense of a military alliance or a political
alliance.

Q Are you ruling that out?

SECRETARY POWELL: I'm not ruling anything in or our at the moment.

Q Can I ask you to elaborate on your answer to Jay's question on the
atmospherics? For example, who's idea was it to take a walk in the woods? Did
the President enter the meeting intending to invite him to Crawford or did
that just develop? I mean, what were the atmospherics?

DR. RICE: The President had said -- really it wasn't planned hours in
advance. The President said, I would like to invite him to come to
Washington, and I think on the spot then President Putin invited the
President to come to Russia. It was a quite remarkable meeting in that it was
both warm and straightforward. Sometimes meetings are warm because people are
trying to blur differences. This was not the case. This was a case in which I
think President Putin feels he had his say, in which President Bush felt that
he had his say, but they maintained a kind of warmth about it, a kind of
respect about it.

And, frankly, I think both men, I think, connected on a kind of sense of
humor. The President mentioned the point about the daughters being named
after mother-in-laws. That was kind of an interesting moment. But it was
really not a very scripted meeting. It was a meeting in which the exchanges
were long. There was a lot of dialogue between them on every issue. They went
into depth on some issues; others, they left to their experts to do.

But it really was one of the more remarkable meetings of this kind that I've
been in, because it was extremely straightforward. They did not blur their
differences. The President brought up freedom of the press. The President
brought up Chechnya. Mr. Putin brought up concerns that he had about the
region to his south. They did not try to blur their differences, but it was
still a very warm meeting.

Q In his speech in Warsaw yesterday, the President seemed to put the
United States' weight behind full membership of NATO. Did President Putin
understand that speech in that way, and what was his general response to the
possibility of the Balkan states coming into it?

DR. RICE: The President, in his speech in Poland, I think simply laid out
some important principles, which were that he believes NATO should continue
to expand. He and the allies, as Lord Robertson said, believe that something
should happen at Prague. There cannot be a zero option at Prague. The
President also clearly said that there should be no geographic and historical
red-lines, and that no one has a veto. He did not bother -- he did not need
to reiterate that to President Putin. President Putin had read the speech, he
understood that.

But the President did reiterate that there was nothing for Russia to fear
with Europe moving toward it, that this is an alliance of democracies and
peace-loving states, and that he looked forward to a relationship that
completely took cognizance of Russia's European-ness in much the way that he
talked about in Poland. But President Putin did not comment directly on
specific areas, specific questions that the President had raised -- or
specific points that the President had made in Poland.

We'll miss the plane if we don't get out of here.

THE PRESS: Thank you.

END 6:45 P.M. (L)

*******

Johnson's Russia List Archive (under construction):  http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson

CDI Russia Weekly:  http://www.cdi.org/russia

CDI Headlines:  http://www.cdi.org/

Defense Monitor:  http://www.cdi.org/dm/2001

Weekly Defense Monitor:  http://www.cdi.org/weekly/