#3
BBC Monitoring
USA, Russia should work together on anti-missile defence - congressman
Source: Ekho Moskvy news agency, Moscow, in Russian 0838 gmt 15 Jan 02

[No dateline as received] "Russia and the USA should work together on the anti-missile defence project - the Russian military will only benefit from this", US congressman Curt Weldon said, speaking live on Ekho Moskvy radio. Weldon is a member of the Congressional Committee on Armed Services.

"I understand the political significance of the ABM treaty for Russia, but the actions of [US President George W.] Bush have not been aimed at undermining stability", he said.

He said that one of the reasons why the anti-missile shield was being created is that long-range missiles could be created and used by China or North Korea.

He said that the USA "keeps investing millions of dollars in the joint US-Russia missile programme", he said.

Weldon said "there should be broader programmes that should involve not only Russia and the USA, but also Turkey, Israel and Iran".

He said Russia and the USA had an historic opportunity to become real partners and achieve a situation whereby there relations will be based not only on the ABM treaty, but also on joint activities in the fields of health, culture, science, environment, etc.

Weldon said that he once submitted proposals to Bush on changing the approach to the relations with Russia. Those included the annulment of the Jackson-Vanick amendment; the ratification of the convention on the law of the sea; support for Russia's admission to the WTO; and helping Russia resolve its problems with the London and Paris clubs [of creditors].

Weldon said that "the USA of the 1990s had failed to help Russia solve its problems, and namely to tackle corruption". "The position of the previous administration was often negative. This is why Russians have lost their confidence in America. But now both states have new presidents. There are new people in the US Congress who want to see Russia as a trusted partner", he said.