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#18 - JRL 8297 - JRL Home
Interfax
July 19, 2004
Alexander Vershbow: U.S. presidential elections won't change U.S. - Russia relations

Relations with Russia will not be revised after the presidential elections in the United States, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow told Interfax.

The ambassador said he does not think Russian-American relations will be a key issue in the U.S. presidential election campaign. There is consensus between the Democratic and Republican Parties on the approach to relations with Russia declared by the Bush administration, he said.

There will be a certain reshuffling of the officials in charge of U.S.-Russian relations, but general approaches will not be altered, the ambassador said.

The U.S. hopes that the presidential elections in Chechnya, due in August, will be effective and there will be a true rivalry between candidates, he said.

America is very much interested in lasting settlement in Chechnya, because the conflict hampers bilateral cooperation in the global fight against terrorism, Vershbow said, adding that Chechen settlement would also make Russia an even stronger partner.

The elections could give an impetus to political settlement of the Chechen conflict, he said.

Russia's accession to WTO depends on anti-pirating measures

It will be difficult for Russia to finalize negotiations to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) if there is no tangible progress in protecting intellectual property rights, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow told Interfax.

Protecting intellectual property rights is an important element of Russia's accession to the WTO, which implies the acceptance of many rules and norms, including on copyright, the ambassador said.

American companies in the music and movie industry are insisting on fines to make Russia put an end to piracy, which inflicts about $1 billion in damage to U.S. companies annually, he said.

The problem is that pirated products are exported from Russia to third countries, which means there is even larger damage than just from the sale of pirated discs on the streets in Russia, the ambassador said.

The U.S. is optimistic about the Russian government's awareness that this problem is not only international, but also damages Russian producers, he said.