 |
Untitled Document Russian President Vladimir Putin Remarks at Press Conference Following Group of Eight Heads of State and Government Meeting, Evian, France, June 3, 2003 (excerpted) Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Daily News Bulletin June 4, 2003
Good afternoon, esteemed ladies and gentlemen. Allow me to share with you the results of the work and, of course, the first thing that I must say is to express words of gratefulness to the Summit Chairman, the President of France Mr. Chirac for the hospitality and for the facilities provided for its work. The meeting in Evian has again shown that the G8 members are united by long-term strategic interests, and this enabled us to discuss any, including disputable, issues and in the end arrive at mutually acceptable decisions. A new and highly fruitful decision in the summit's practice was the debate in an extended composition. For many of our partners this was the first contact with the G8, and we welcome the start of such a broad dialogue.
From the concrete summit results I can, first of all, note the following: the Evian meeting on the whole will help strengthen the international antiterrorist coalition, for we understand that the success of the struggle against terror hinges directly on our unity and on the effectiveness of our combined efforts. Set up by a decision of the summit, the G8 group on antiterrorist actions is designed to become a serious instrument; its activities will be closely linked with the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the United Nations Security Council, the main coordinator for the efforts of the world community in this field. I must say that Russia is disposed to actively participate in the work of the new body, and it is only logical that the main focus on our part will be on the CIS space and the zone of operation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Further, the G8 has adopted a serious decision in the field of the regime of nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This is particularly relevant in the light of attempts by terrorist organizations to gain access to weapons of mass destruction. Neither should it be forgotten that the nonproliferation regimes play a key role in the maintenance of regional stability. The main efforts should be directed to the strengthening of the legal regimes and mechanisms for their implementation.
We have also analyzed and examined how the Global Partnership initiative against the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction is being implemented. Russia is making a substantial contribution to the advancement of this program. In the next ten years we plan to allocate and spend at least two billion dollars for these purposes. A special mechanism has been set up in our country for the coordination of Global Partnership work under the leadership of the Chairman of the Government of Russia, and the necessary international legal base has also been formed. I mean the Agreement on the Multilateral Nuclear Environmental Program in the Russian Federation (MNEPR), and a number of bilateral agreements.
We welcome the statement of our partners on the possibility of allocating funds for the projects envisaged by the accords reached in Kananaskis. We feel that these statements should be backed by practical actions, in the first place - the speediest elaboration of projects in priority areas of the Global Partnership, the liquidation of chemical weapons and disposition of obsolete and decommissioned nuclear submarines. Russia for the first time took part in the preparation of the entire package of financial and economic documents of the meeting, and I regard this as one more proof of its organic integration into world structures, into the world economy.
[…]
Question (France Presse): What can you say about the situation with the Iranian nuclear program?
Answer: I consider that the problem of nonproliferation is one of the chief problems of the 21st century, and one of the most acute problems, for the solution of which all civilized countries ought to join forces. As to Iran, we cooperate with Iran. It is our neighbor, and we will cooperate with it in the future. We are categorically against the pulling out of problems which would be used for unfair competition, including in the Iranian market. But at the same time we feel that the IAEA, among others, should play a decisive role in nonproliferation. We will insist that all the Iranian programs in the nuclear field are placed under the control of this organization. And we will build our cooperation with all countries based on how open they are and to what extent they are in a position to place their programs under IAEA control.
|
|
|
|
