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Wall Street Journal
May 27, 2002
With Arms Treaty Signed, Putin Seeks To Shift Agenda to
Russia's Economy
By JEANNE CUMMINGS
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
PARIS -- With a new arms treaty with the U.S. in place, Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to shift momentum to another agenda: improving Russia's economy.
U.S. President Bush endured a hectic schedule in Russia over the weekend, but both men seemed relieved to be jockeying over poultry exports and steel dumping rather than avoiding annihilation -- and so are the European leaders who long lived in the shadows of the Cold War.
"We paid special attention to the change and development of the relationship between the U.S. and Russia ," said French President Jacques Chirac at a joint new conference with Mr. Bush in Paris on Sunday. "We welcome this change."
Despite an agreement to reduce nuclear weapons, there are still challenges ahead for Moscow and Washington. Security issues from the spread of nuclear technology to missile defense remain. Trade barriers built up over decades now must be dismantled a piece at a time. And Russia , anxious for an equal partnership, must confront a bedeviling set of internal reforms intended to create a better environment for business investors and a more vibrant democracy.
The arms-reduction treaty, which requires each country to reduce its deployed nuclear weapons by two-thirds in 10 years, was signed Friday. The three-page agreement, Mr. Bush said, "says the Cold War is over, and America and Russia need to be, and will be, friends, for the good of the world."
Administration officials hope that the foundation block of this new era will be laid Tuesday in Rome when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization approves a new agreement that grants Russia a nonvoting seat in the organization specifically created to match and contain the Soviet Union militarily.
The NATO-Russia Council initially will be charged with cooperating on terrorism, search-and-rescue missions and easing airline transportation issues. More areas of common interest will be identified as the leaders assess the council's effectiveness, and a senior administration official admitted that no one is certain that the council will serve as the most promising vehicle for integrating Russia back into the world community.
One security issue that remains on the U.S.-Russia agenda is Russia's assistance to Iran in building two nuclear power plants. U.S. officials worry that Russia's expertise will be used by Iran to build nuclear weapons; Russia says the assistance is strictly civilian and checks have been put in place to prevent a dangerous conversion of knowledge or equipment.
Mr. Putin countered U.S. worries with Moscow's own discomfort with similar American-backed projects in Taiwan and North Korea. The presidents ordered further consultations between Secretary of State Colin Powell, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and their Russian counterparts.
Reducing tactical nuclear weapons delivered on short- and medium-range missiles, lowering Russia's stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, dismantling nuclear warheads, and tracking how much weapons-grade nuclear material Russia actually possesses are also security issues that remain high on the two nations' agenda. Mr. Bush is asking for more than $1 billion (€1.1 billion) from Congress next year to help Russia cope with all those demands.
On missile defense, Mr. Putin is insisting that the U.S. allow Russian experts greater access and participation in the development of the U.S. system so that it might be duplicated to protect Europe. Russia's position marked a sharp turn from a year ago, when Mr. Putin warned that U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to create the new defense system could set off a new arms race. Instead, the two leaders on Saturday issued a joint statement committing each side to "intensified practical cooperation."
While the Bush Administration is pressing Russia on security issues, Mr. Putin is aggressively seeking to improve Russia's economy with help from its biggest trading partner.
The years of isolation under Communist rule that cut Russia off from high-tech advances like the Internet was "unforgivable," Mr. Putin said, and he is pushing the Bush Administration to rewrite a variety of trade laws that ban export of so-called "dual use" technology. The restrictions are so sweeping, for instance, that Russia's is facing obstacles in getting high-speed computer programming technology.
The Russian president also is seeking broader markets for his domestic airline sector and easier access to capital for its promising, oil-rich energy industry. The presidents encouraged development of "multiple pipelines" in the Caspian region, a policy decision designed to spread economic benefits to Russian neighbors and avoid creation of a distribution monopoly. The agreement to allow major U.S. investment in the Russian energy sector "enhancing global energy security and stability of supplies," language that some analysts said signaled U.S. recognition of Russia as an important alternative source of fuel to the volatile Middle East.
Mr. Putin -- and even the Russian students -- also complained about the Bush Administration's failure to revoke the so-called Jackson-Vanik trade sanctions, holdovers from the Soviet era, that now stand in the way of Russia's acceptance to the World Trade Organization. Although Mr. Bush blamed Congress for the U.S. failure to deliver on the long-sought cancellation, some administration officials have conceded that the White House should have moved the bill earlier in the year -- before it got ensnared in a host of other trade issues.
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