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Putin Hails Russian-US Cooperation on Security
Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed the dialogue between the Russian and U.S. military on Saturday, regarding it as an important aspect of bilateral cooperation.
"Our dialogue has been developing just as we planned in all directions, including security services. It creates the atmosphere of trust necessary for developing relations in other directions," Putin said while meeting with visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Putin said such cooperation has enjoyed a strong boost since his October meeting with the U.S. President George W. Bush in Shanghai on the fringes of the APEC summit.
However, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov ruled out the possibility of sending Russian troops to Afghanistan. "Nobody is asking Russia for such participation, and I see no reason why we should change our position," Ivanov told reporters after the meeting between Putin and Rumsfeld.
Ivanov also had separate talks with Rumsfeld on the military campaign in Afghanistan and Washington's missile defense plans earlier on Saturday
A defense ministry spokesman said the Russian-U.S. cooperation in fighting terrorism has predictably grown as well as cooperation in non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
"I think this could become a good basis for talks between the presidents of Russia and the U.S.," Ivanov said, in reference to the upcoming summit between Putin and Bush scheduled on November 13-15.
Regarding the Anti-Ballistic Missile issue that soured the ties between Moscow and Washington in the early months of Bush's office, Ivanov said it was necessary to create something new before withdrawing from the 1972 ABM treaty.
"The ABM is an important but not the only component of strategic stability," he said. "Russia and the U.S. now have mutual understanding and the desire to look to the future together. However, before pulling out of this or that treaty, it is necessary to create something different."
"We have been told often in the past that the treaty is outdated and is a cold war relic," Ivanov said. "But all Russian-U.S. agreements, to a certain extent, are relics of the cold war."
Rumsfeld's brief visit to Moscow is the first leg of his tour of five countries, including Afghanistan's three neighbors -- Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan -- and India.
Rumsfeld told reporters before leaving Moscow that it was up to the presidents of Russia and the U.S. to solve the ABM problem and he therefore would not discuss this issue now.
But he did quote Bush as saying that it was now time to "go beyond" the ABM treaty and create a 21st century structure.
He also expressed gratitude for Russia's strong support to the fight against international terrorism as well as the U.S.-led military action in Afghanistan.
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