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U.S., Russia Arms Deal Seen Possible
October 26, 2001
By ANGELA CHARLTON
MOSCOW (AP) - President Vladimir Putin's visit to the United States next month could produce a landmark deal on American missile defense plans and on cutting nuclear arsenals, the U.S. ambassador to Russia said Friday.
Last weekend's meeting between President Bush and Putin in Shanghai, China, ``opened the way for a possible agreement, perhaps even as early as Putin's visit to the United States, on ... issues relating to strategic offensive and defensive arms,'' Ambassador Alexander Vershbow said during an online news conference.
He did not give details on what type of agreement could be reached. However, the statement follows the Pentagon's announcement Thursday that it is delaying three missile tracking tests related to its missile defense plan because they might violate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty.
The delays marked the first time Washington has allowed concerns about the treaty to slow its missile defense project.
Moscow vehemently opposes the missile defense plan, and the test delay was seen as a gesture to the Russians that would give Bush room to maneuver during Putin's visit to Washington and Texas on Nov.13-15.
Washington has long said it needs a defense against long-range ballistic missiles, while Moscow says abandoning the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty would prompt a new arms race. An agreement could come in the form of treaty amendments that would allow the testing the United States wants to conduct.
Prospects for an agreement looked dim until recently. But Putin's strong support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorist campaign in Afghanistan has given a boost to relations.
Many in Russia's political elite have urged Putin to exact concessions from the West for his stance, such as debt relief or a halt to NATO expansion.
Vershbow insisted that an agreement on strategic arms should not be seen as political payment for Moscow's support for the anti-terrorist campaign.
``It's not a question of quid pro quo,'' he said, but added that the overall improvement of relations ``will pay very big dividends'' for Russia.
``I'm optimistic that Russian relations with NATO may be more satisfactorily resolved as a result of this cooperation,'' Vershbow said.
And on the economic front, Vershbow said, ``Investors will increasingly see Russia as a country in which America can place its trust.''
Russian analysts cautiously welcomed the American missile test delay as a good sign for the coming summit.
``It's very important for Russia. We're not used to gifts from the American side,'' said Anatoly Utkin, an adviser to the lower house of Russia's parliament and an analyst with Moscow's Institute for USA and Canada.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell and his Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov, discussed consultations on offensive and defensive weapons during a telephone conversation late Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.
An arms-control initiative by U.S. Sens. Richard Lugar and Joseph Biden would ease Russia's debt burden in exchange for promises that Russia would spend the money on nuclear nonproliferation programs and safeguarding technologies that can be used in weapons.
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