ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – President Bush and Russian President Vladimir
Putin today urged North Korea and Iran to halt development of nuclear
weapons.
Bush also stood by his controversial assertion that Iraq did indeed
have prohibited arms – his primary stated justification for launching the
war to topple Saddam Hussein.
Both the United States and Russia are "determined to meet the threats
of weapons of mass destruction," Bush said at a joint news conference. "We
strongly urge North Korea to visibly, verifiably and irreversibly
dismantle its nuclear program."
He added: "We are concerned about Iran's advanced nuclear program and
urge Iran to comply in full with its obligations under the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty."
While agreeing that they both oppose the spread of nuclear technology,
the two leaders remained at least partly at odds over Iran's nuclear
program.
The Bush administration claims Russian sales of technology to Iran is
helping Tehran to develop a nuclear weapons program. Russia has denied
that its help is going toward weapons development; Iran says its nuclear
program is strictly for peaceful development of energy.
"Russia and the United States have mutual concerns about the advanced
Iranian nuclear program. We understand the consequences of Iran having a
nuclear weapon and therefore we want to work together ... to make sure
they do not have a nuclear weapon," Bush said. "I appreciate Vladimir
Putin's understanding of the issue, and his willingness to work with me
and others to resolve this."
But Putin, while agreeing that the spread of nuclear weapons should be
prevented "not just in Iran but in other regions," had some pointed words
on the subject.
"We are against using the pretext of a nuclear weapons program (in
Iran) as an instrument of unfair competition against us," he said. "The
position of Russia and the United States on the issue are much closer than
they seem.We need no convincing about the fact that weapons of mass
destruction proliferation should be checked and prevented throughout the
world."
Bush answered tersely when asked about the search for weapons of mass
destruction in Iraq.
"We've discovered weapons systems, biological labs, that Iraq denied
she had, and labs that were prohibited under the U.N. resolutions," Bush
said.
Earlier this weekend, Bush pointed to two suspected biological
laboratories found in Iraq. But both the Pentagon and U.S. weapons hunters
have said the labs do not constitute arms. U.S. intelligence concluded
last week that the mobile labs probably were designed to produce
biological weapons.
Putin offered no opinion on whether such weapons will be found in Iraq.
Prime Minister Tony Blair, in an interview with Sky News Television, said
he had "no doubt whatever that the evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction will be there. Absolutely."
Russia opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, leading to friction with the
United States.
But both leaders said they were putting the dispute behind them.
The "fundamentals of the relations between the United States and Russia
turned out to be stronger than the forces and events that tested it,"
Putin said. Bush nodded in agreement, and said terrorism will unite the
two countries.
"We are working closely to confront the challenges of our time," Bush
said. "Both of our countries have suffered greatly at the hands of
terrorists, and our governments are taking action to confront this
threat."
Bush invited Putin to Camp David in September, and Putin seemed to
signal with a nod that he accepted. The two leaders held their news
conference while seated at massive twin white desks inside Konstantin
Palace. They met privately for 45 minutes before the news conference.
The leaders were asked whether they had made any headway in persuading
Russia to scale back its sales of nuclear technology to Iran –
transactions that the Bush administration claims are helping Tehran
develop a nuclear weapons program. Russia has denied that its help is
going toward weapons development. Iran says its nuclear program is
strictly for peaceful development of electrical energy.
"The position of Russia and the United States on the issue are much
closer than they seem," Putin said. "We need no convincing about the fact
that weapons of mass destruction proliferation should be checked and
prevented throughout the world."
The two leaders signed papers certifying both Russia and the United
States have now formally ratified the "Treaty of Moscow," the agreement
last year to reduce arsenals on both sides by two-thirds. The U.S. Senate
passed it earlier this year, and the Russian parliament ratified it last
month.
Bush's remarks today, and a speech Saturday in Krakow, Poland, set a
conciliatory tone for the Group of Eight meeting, an annual summit of
major industrialized nations in Evian, France. Differences over Iraq
caused an unprecedented breach between the United States and longtime
partners such as France and Germany, which led the opposition to the war.
With prompting from Washington, some Americans have refused to buy French
products.
Bush spoke to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder for the first time in
six months on today.
"How are you?" Bush said after approaching Schroeder in St. Petersburg
and offering his hand, according to German officials. The two leaders
spoke briefly but were not seated at the same table during a banquet
dinner. They had not spoken since November when Schroeder ran for
reelection on an anti-war platform.
"America and European countries have been called to confront the threat
of global terror," Bush said in his Krakow speech. "Each nation has faced
difficult decisions about the use of military force to keep the peace. We
have seen unity and common purpose. We have also seen debate – some of it
healthy, some of it divisive."
The G-8 meeting runs through Tuesday, but Bush will cut short his stay
and depart for the Middle East on Monday for talks with Arab leaders in
Egypt and then a summit in Jordan with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
and Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian prime minister.
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)
.gif)