| Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 15, 2001 |
Putin Says Russia Prepared to Help NATO Fight New Threats |
|
Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that his country is prepared to help NATO counter the threats of terrorism as well as weapons of mass destruction following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that his country is prepared to help NATO counter the threats of terrorism as well as weapons of mass destruction following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Russia was better equipped than most nations to help the Western security alliance combat such threats, Putin said when speaking at Rice University in Houston, Texas, before heading for U.S. President George W. Bush's ranch in Crawford of the state.
"We are now seeing threats that we have not encountered before. We are not only talking about the dreadful events of September 11, but also other concerns ... including bioweapons, chemical weapons and weapons of mass destruction," Putin said.
Russia is ready to cooperate with NATO to the same extent that NATO is ready to cooperate with Moscow, Bush said.
"This is in the interests of Russia and we are examining different options on this," he added.
Putin arrived in Washington Monday night and held talks with Bush at the White House the following day.
At a joint press conference after talks Tuesday afternoon, Bush and Putin promised that their countries will cut their nuclear arsenals by roughly two-thirds each, but the two leaders failed to bridge their rift on missile defense.
|
|
|
|