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Untitled Document Russian American Nuclear Security Advisory Council Nonproliferation and Threat Reduction on the Agenda of the June 1, 2003, St. Petersburg Summit between Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin Michael Roston, Analyst June 10, 2003 The celebration of the 300th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg included a crowded array of visits between President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation and many of his counterparts, including heads of state from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, President Junichiro Koizumi of Japan, and members of the European Union. On June 1, President George W. Bush was added to this busy list of diplomatic events. During the proceedings, the two leaders completed an agenda including issues of strategic stability and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Simultaneously, some trends in the structures through which US-Russian foreign relations are conducted also became evident. The dialog on strategic issues between the presidents was punctuated by the final exchange of instruments of ratification for the Moscow Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions. A Joint Statement on the New Strategic Relationship by Bush and Putin emphasized the importance of this act to transforming the US-Russian relationship away from confrontation. The Joint Statement also added focus to the central role played by the countering of terrorism and the prevention of the proliferation of WMD in the relationship, and expressed the intention of each side to concretely cooperate in the area of missile defense. Discussions also occurred on WMD proliferation concerns around the world. On North Korea, each president agreed on the necessity of Pyongyang’s irreversible dismantlement of its nuclear weapons program. However, the focus of dialog on proliferation was the question of Iran’s nuclear program, and Russia’s contribution to reactor construction at Bushehr. President Putin emphasized that the US and Russian positions on the Iranian nuclear program were “much closer than they seem,” and an administration official agreed that “a meeting of the minds” had occurred on the dangers involved in Iran’s uranium enrichment program. However, some conflict over the matter was still evident when Putin warned that the Iranian nuclear weapons issue should not be used as a pretext for “unfair competition” against Russian nuclear enterprises. Shortly after the summit, Russia agreed that the future of its nuclear cooperation with Iran would be shaped by the determinations of an International Atomic Energy Agency report on Teheran’s compliance with NPT safeguards, to be released later in June. Russia further announced that Iran should voluntarily sign an Additional Protocol agreement for nuclear inspection, and that reactor completion at Bushehr would be delayed to 2005. While the resolution of the Iran issue in US-Russia ties remained unclear, the two sides noted the strengthening of the structures used to conduct foreign relations. Emphasis was placed during background briefings on the meetings that preceded the summit between Defense Minister Igor Ivanov and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, as well as the Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Ivanov and Secretary of State Colin Powell. Bush and Putin believed these meetings signaled greater coordination and communication in each side’s pursuit of its foreign policy. In addition, the benefits of direct dialog between the White House and the Kremlin were noted, with President Putin emphasizing the increasing communications between his own closest advisors and Condoleezza Rice and key staff of the US National Security Council. Both sides viewed development of these channels of communication as a positive step, heightening the progress that can be made in preparation for future meetings between the two presidents, including the Camp David retreat planned for September 2003.
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