President Vladimir Putin Remarks and Answers to Questions from Journalists at Joint Press Conference with President George Bush of the United States of America, White House, Washington, November 13, 2001

Esteemed ladies and gentlemen, First of all, I would like not only to thank the US President for the kind invitation to visit the United States and Washington, but also for the very informal start of the talks. I want to express my condolences over the plane crash in America. Troubles never come singly, they pour in. I would like to wish the American people the courage to firmly meet these misfortunes. We have now finished the discussions, useful and interesting, but will yet proceed with them in Crawford. We assess them as very positive. This is my fourth meeting with President Bush over the last few months.

I think this strikingly illustrates the dynamics that the Russian-American relationship has acquired. We have come to understand each other better, gradually bringing our positions closer on key problems in bilateral and international relations. Today we are already ready to look for solutions to every issue in our relations. We are in the mood for dismantling the Cold War legacy completely and starting to form a strategic partnership for the long term. It goes without saying, we discussed in detail the theme of combating international terrorism. The tragic events of September 11 have poignantly revealed the need for joining forces to act against this global threat decisively. We take it exactly as global. Terrorists and those who aid them should know: just retribution is inevitable. And it will catch up with them wherever they may try to hide. The issue of a post-crisis political dispensation in Afghanistan also was touched on. The main thing now is that peace and a worthy life should return to the Afghan land. And lest a threat to other countries and international stability emanate from the territory of Afghanistan.

We, of course, are not going to impose our schemes on the Afghan people. It must itself decide its future with the active participation of the UN. We also thoroughly discussed how our dialogue is going on the interlinked questions of strategic offensive and defensive arms. Definite progress has been made in this field. Above all, it concerns the prospects for the elaboration of a reliable and verifiable accord on further drastic cuts in the nuclear potentials of Russia and the United States. In this regard, I must say that we highly appreciate the decision of the US President to reduce strategic offensive arms to the designated threshold and will for our part strive for an adequate response. In questions of ABM our position remains invariable, and we have agreed to proceed with the dialogue and consultations on this issue.

I think that to sum up final results of the discussion of this problem too is premature. We will have an opportunity to continue work at President Bush's rancho in Crawford. We exchanged views also on acute international problems. Discussed the situation in the Balkans and around Iraq, and reiterated in the adopted joint statement the firm intention of Russia and the USA to help in overcoming the crisis in the Middle East and above all - with a speedy resumption of the talks between Israelis and Palestinians. A serious talk about developing the relations between Russia and NATO also took place. Including with regard to the changed international situation. I believe there is an opportunity for the shaping of qualitatively new mechanisms of cooperation - notably, joint decision making and coordinated actions in the area of security and the promotion of stability. A number of basic questions of economic cooperation were considered at length.

You know that Russian-American dialogue in this area has become richer and more substantive recently. The implementation of such large investment projects as Sakhalin 1, and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's pipeline is picking up speed. Cooperation is successfully advancing in the aerospace, mining and chemical industries, in car manufacturing and other fields. Direct contacts are expanding between entrepreneurs of our countries, in particular, within the framework of the Russian-American Business Dialogue. We noted with satisfaction the progress in solving the issue of Russia's entry into WTO, and the recognition of Russia's status as a country with market economy. And felt the considerable understanding that the question has to be dealt with at last of exempting Russia from the Jackson-Vanik amendment. Not de facto, but legally now. In this context our Foreign Minister and the Secretary of State, Messrs. Ivanov and Powell, exchanged letters reaffirming the commitment of Russia and the US to common values in the area of human rights and religious freedoms. Of course, the potential of bilateral economic cooperation is by no means fully tapped so far. Here, just as in other fields, big joint work is ahead. But we firmly believe that its success is already in many ways predetermined. Predetermined by our common mood for vigorous and constructive cooperation, which is so convincingly being demonstrated during this visit.

President Vladimir Putin: Thank you.

Mr. Siegel: You have just been to Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan, and I want to ask you first your reactions on seeing that.

Question: Executions are reported when the Northern Alliance entered Kabul and other cities. We are trying to bring those who engage in terror to justice. We spoke of the Northern Alliance, of attitude toward it. Will we cooperate further with the Northern Alliance? The representatives of the Alliance said that they had no intention to take Kabul...

President Putin(adding to George Bush's remarks):

All our actions sought to free the northern part of Afghanistan, and the Afghan capital from the Taliban regime. Well, any hostilities are accompanied not only by resistance of a military character, but also by information resistance, which, strictly speaking, we're witnessing right now. For some reason we today no longer recall the destruction of the cultural heritage of humanity or atrocities committed by the Taliban on the territory of Afghanistan, and even tend to talk less and less about the fact that they harbor international terrorists. The thesis that the Northern Alliance is shooting POWs was launched a few days ago. A few days ago the Alliance wasn't in Kabul, it was liberating the northern areas of the country. The northern areas of the country - I will tell for those who do not know - are inhabited by ethnic groups which are represented in the Alliance itself: Uzbeks, Tajiks. I can't imagine that they would engage in shootings of this population; indeed, I rule that out altogether. If, however, in the course of hostilities there are human rights abuses or violations of the rules for the treatment of POWs - we, of course, must respond, but evidence of such violations has to be submitted for that. But talking of this, we should not forget either how the people are welcoming those who are freeing them from the Taliban regime. In the freed cities music is playing, women are casting off and burning the veil, and so on. To that I will ask the media to pay attention as well, if we want to be truly objective.

Question: Is it possible to expect specific figures for an arms reduction to come and when will the visit of George Bush to Moscow take place?

Putin: President Bush knows, and I want once again to repeat that he has an invitation to visit the Russian Federation in any format, for an official, working, private visit at any time convenient for him. I guess the best time would be early summer, during the white nights in St. Petersburg. Though, of course, we will start the official part in the Russian capital Moscow. As to the business part, I think that before this time our experts will do some work. For our part, we are ready to execute all our understandings in a treaty form, including the questions of control and verification.

Question: : Officials from the George Bush administration have repeatedly expressed concern about the freedom of speech in Russia, but after September 11 one has the impression that in America too the situation is changing. Television companies are working out rules for coverage of the operation in Afghanistan and the powers of the special services are being extended. Where does the voluntary restriction of journalists end and restriction of freedom of speech in general? To what line should your administration not come up?

Putin(adding to George Bush's remarks): I believe providing the media platform for international terrorists now would be like giving an opportunity to print in leading newspapers of the times of the Second World War the statements of Dr. Goebbels. And one could put this question in a different way: not to what point is it possible to restrict and control the press, but to what point it is possible to give terrorists or any other destructive elements an opportunity to use the media for achieving their antihuman aims. Let us look at this problem from all angles.

Question: What specifically can be done in Afghanistan in the next few days in order to ensure the security of the people of Kabul?

Putin(adding to George Bush's remarks): The Northern Alliance did not take Kabul, there was no assault. The Northern Alliance had long since been "hanging" over Kabul. Simply now they've discovered that Kabul was abandoned. They had to introduce certain security forces there in order to prevent looting and killings. There was no power there, it was necessary to establish control of the situation. And therefore it is now difficult for us to make any complaints to the Northern Alliance about the violation of the accords, because, just as they had promised, they did not take Kabul by assault, simply it had turned out to be abandoned. The Taliban, saving equipment and trying to preserve manpower, had simply left from there. This was a ruse by the Taliban, but that should not mislead us. The Taliban haven't disappeared, they've simply withdrawn. Therefore, I agree with George Bush, we must watch the situation in Afghanistan and not allow violations of either human rights or the rules of treatment of POWs. And this does not mean that we have already achieved our goals.

Question: How do you assess the situation in Pakistan, which has always been in the zone of US influence? And one more question. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have provided the bases for US aircraft, Mr. Putin frankly admits he gave the green light to this decision. Aren't you afraid there might begin a redivision of the spheres of influence following this and the importance of these republics for Russia could decrease?

Putin : As far as a possible redivision of the spheres of influence, the strengthening of US influence on Central Asia and Russia's fears on that score are concerned I can say just this. I am more concerned by the existence of training camps for terrorists in Afghanistan for delivery to the North Caucasus, with which we were confronted recently. After Masood was killed, I had a very grave foreboding, and on that same day I told President Bush about it, that was before September 11: "You know, I think we are in for serious events, this is not an isolated fact of terror. Now this worries me really." If we look at relations between Russia and the US from the old vantage point, that of distrust and enmity, then our actions are incorrect, but if we look to the future and want to build relations of partnership and cooperation, there's nothing to fear. This is the first point.

Secondly, we should not forget that Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are independent states and they define their foreign policy on their own. They themselves decide with whom to cooperate and to what extent. A different thing worries me in this. And today I told the US President about it and I can repeat it now too. I feel that we must all back up President Musharraf, and this is correct. On the streets of Pakistan American flags are being burned today, and we should not ignore this. On the streets of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan - they are also Muslim countries after all - no American flags are being burned. Moreover, these states cooperate with the US, for the first time so openly and so consistently in the international coalition to combat terrorism. They've got their own problems as well, but none of them groan or whine, but grapple with the problems which their states face. In these conditions the continuation in regard to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan of the same Jackson-Vanik amendment, the non-recognition of market status for their economies and so on can hardly be called justified or fair. This we should now think about, if we want to build new relations in the new 21st century.

Thank you very much.

Publication of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.