Bush And Putin: Joint Declaration

Friday May 24, 2002

The United States of America and the Russian Federation,

Recalling the accomplishments at the Ljubljana, Genoa, Shanghai, and Washington/Crawford Summits and thenew spirit of cooperation already achieved;

Building on the November 13 2001 Joint Statement on a New Relationship Between the United States andRussia, having embarked upon the path of new relations for the twenty-first century, and committed todeveloping a relationship based on friendship, cooperation, common values, trust, openness, andpredictability;

Reaffirming our belief that new global challenges and threats require a qualitatively new foundation forour relationship;

Determined to work together, with other nations and with international organisations, to respond to thesenew challenges and threats, and thus contribute to a peaceful, prosperous, and free world and to strengtheningstrategic security;

Declare as follows:

A Foundation for Cooperation

We are achieving a new strategic relationship. The era in which the United States and Russia saw each otheras an enemy or strategic threat has ended. We are partners and we will cooperate to advance stability,security, and economic integration, and to jointly counter global challenges and to help resolve regionalconflicts.

To advance these objectives the United States and Russia will continue an intensive dialogue on pressinginternational and regional problems, both on a bilateral basis and in international fora, including in the UNSecurity Council, the G8, and the OSCE. Where we have differences, we will work to resolve them in a spirit ofmutual respect.

We will respect the essential values of democracy, human rights, free speech and free media, tolerance, therule of law, and economic opportunity.

We recognise that the security, prosperity, and future hopes of our peoples rest on a benign securityenvironment, the advancement of political and economic freedoms, and international cooperation.

The further development of US-Russian relations and the strengthening of mutual understanding and trustwill also rest on a growing network of ties between our societies and peoples. We will support growingeconomic interaction between the business communities of our two countries and people-to-people and culturalcontacts and exchanges.

Political Cooperation

The United States and Russia are already acting as partners and friends in meeting the new challenges ofthe 21st century; affirming our Joint Statement of October 21, 2001, our countries are already allied in theglobal struggle against international terrorism.

The United States and Russia will continue to cooperate to support the Afghan people's efforts to transformAfghanistan into a stable, viable nation at peace with itself and its neighbours. Our cooperation, bilaterallyand through the United Nations, the 'Six-Plus-Two' diplomatic process, and in other multilateral fora, hasproved important to our success so far in ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban and al-Qaida.

In Central Asia and the South Caucasus, we recognise our common interest in promoting the stability,sovereignty, and territorial integrity of all the nations of this region. The United States and Russia rejectthe failed model of 'Great Power' rivalry that can only increase the potential for conflict in those regions.We will support economic and political development and respect for human rights while we broaden ourhumanitarian cooperation and cooperation on counterterrorism and counternarcotics.

The United States and Russia will cooperate to resolve regional conflicts, including those in Abkhazia andNagorno-Karabakh, and the Transnistrian issue in Moldova. We strongly encourage the Presidents of Azerbaijanand Armenia to exhibit flexibility and a constructive approach to resolving the conflict concerningNagorno-Karabakh. As two of the Co-Chairmen of the OSCE's Minsk Group, the United States and Russia standready to assist in these efforts.

On November 13 2001, we pledged to work together to develop a new relationship between Nato and Russia thatreflects the new strategic reality in the Euro-Atlantic region. We stressed that the members of Nato andRussia are increasingly allied against terrorism, regional instability, and other contemporary threats. Wetherefore welcome the inauguration at the May 28, 2002 Nato-Russia summit in Rome of a new Nato-RussiaCouncil, whose members, acting in their national capacities and in a manner consistent with their respectivecollective commitments and obligations, will identify common approaches, take joint decisions, and bear equalresponsibility, individually and jointly, for their implementation. In this context, they will observe in goodfaith their obligations under international law, including the UN Charter, provisions and principles containedin the Helsinki Final Act and the OSCE Charter for European Security. In the framework of the Nato-RussiaCouncil, Nato member states and Russia will work as equal partners in areas of common interest. They aim tostand together against common threats and risks to their security.

As co-sponsors of the Middle East peace process, the United States and Russia will continue to exert jointand parallel efforts, including in the framework of the 'Quartet', to overcome the current crisis in theMiddle East, to restart negotiations, and to encourage a negotiated settlement. In the Balkans, we willpromote democracy, ethnic tolerance, self-sustaining peace, and long-term stability, based on respect for thesovereignty and territorial integrity of the states in the region and United Nations Security Councilresolutions. The United States and Russia will continue their constructive dialogue on Iraq and welcome thecontinuation of special bilateral discussions that opened the way for UN Security Council adoption of theGoods Review List.

Recalling our Joint Statement of November 13 2001 on counternarcotics cooperation, we note that illegaldrug trafficking poses a threat to our peoples and to international security, and represents a substantialsource of financial support for international terrorism. We are committed to intensifying cooperation againstthis threat, which will bolster both the security and health of the citizens of our countries.

The United States and Russia remain committed to intensifying cooperation in the fight againsttransnational organised crime. In this regard, we welcome the entry into force of the Treaty on Mutual LegalAssistance in Criminal Matters on January 31 2002.

Economic Cooperation

The United States and Russia believe that successful national development in the 21st century demandsrespect for the discipline and practices of the free market. As we stated on November 13, 2001, an open marketeconomy, the freedom of economic choice, and an open democratic society are the most effective means toprovide for the welfare of the citizens of our countries.

The United States and Russia will endeavour to make use of the potential of world trade to expand theeconomic ties between the two countries, and to further integrate Russia into the world economy as a leadingparticipant, with full rights and responsibilities, consistent with the rule of law, in the world economicsystem. In this connection, the sides give high priority to Russia's accession to the World Trade Organisationon standard terms.

Success in our bilateral economic and trade relations demands that we move beyond the limitations of thepast. We stress the importance and desirability of graduating Russia from the emigration provisions of theU.S. Trade Act of 1974, also known as the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. We note that the Department of Commerce,based on its ongoing thorough and deliberative inquiry, expects to make its final decision no later than June14, 2002 on whether Russia should be treated as a market economy under the provisions of U.S. trade law. Thesides will take further practical steps to eliminate obstacles and barriers, including as appropriate in thelegislative area, to strengthen economic cooperation.

We have established a new dynamic in our economic relations and between our business communities, aimed atadvancing trade and investment opportunities while resolving disputes, where they occur, constructively andtransparently.

The United States and Russia acknowledge the great potential for expanding bilateral trade and investment,which would bring significant benefits to both of our economies. Welcoming the recommendations of theRussian-American Business Dialogue, we are committed to working with the private sectors of our countries torealise the full potential of our economic interaction. We also welcome the opportunity to intensifycooperation in energy exploration and development, especially in oil and gas, including in the Caspian region.

Strengthening People-to-People Contacts

The greatest strength of our societies is the creative energy of our citizens. We welcome the dramaticexpansion of contacts between Americans and Russians in the past ten years in many areas, including jointefforts to resolve common problems in education, health, the sciences, and environment, as well as throughtourism, sister-city relationships, and other people-to-people contacts. We pledge to continue supportingthese efforts, which help broaden and deepen good relations between our two countries.

Battling the scourge of HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases, ending family violence, protecting theenvironment, and defending the rights of women are areas where U.S. and Russian institutions, and especiallynon-governmental organisations, can successfully expand their cooperation.

Preventing the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Non-Proliferation and International Terrorism

The United States and Russia will intensify joint efforts to confront the new global challenges of thetwenty-first century, including combating the closely linked threats of international terrorism and theproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. We believe that internationalterrorism represents a particular danger to international stability as shown once more by the tragic events ofSeptember 11, 2001. It is imperative that all nations of the world cooperate to combat this threat decisively.Toward this end, the United States and Russia reaffirm our commitment to work together bilaterally andmultilaterally.

The United States and Russia recognise the profound importance of preventing the spread of weapons of massdestruction and missiles. The spectre that such weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists and those whosupport them illustrates the priority all nations must give to combating proliferation.

To that end, we will work closely together, including through cooperative programs, to ensure the securityof weapons of mass destruction and missile technologies, information, expertise, and material. We will alsocontinue cooperative threat reduction programmes and expand efforts to reduce weapons-usable fissile material.In that regard, we will establish joint experts groups to investigate means of increasing the amount ofweapons-usable fissile material to be eliminated, and to recommend collaborative research and developmentefforts on advanced, proliferation-resistant nuclear reactor and fuel cycle technologies. We also intend tointensify our cooperation concerning destruction of chemical weapons.

The United States and Russia will also seek broad international support for a strategy of proactivenon-proliferation, including by implementing and bolstering the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of NuclearWeapons and the conventions on the prohibition of chemical and biological weapons. The United States andRussia call on all countries to strengthen and strictly enforce export controls, interdict illegal transfers,prosecute violators, and tighten border controls to prevent and protect against proliferation of weapons ofmass destruction.

Missile Defence, Further Strategic Offensive Reductions, New Consultative Mechanism on StrategicSecurity

The United States and Russia proceed from the Joint Statements by the President of the United States ofAmerica and the President of the Russian Federation on Strategic Issues of July 22, 2001 in Genoa and on a NewRelationship Between the United States and Russia of November 13, 2001 in Washington.

The United States and Russia are taking steps to reflect, in the military field, the changed nature of thestrategic relationship between them.

The United States and Russia acknowledge that today's security environment is fundamentally different thanduring the Cold War.

In this connection, the United States and Russia have agreed to implement a number of steps aimed atstrengthening confidence and increasing transparency in the area of missile defence, including the exchange ofinformation on missile defence programs and tests in this area, reciprocal visits to observe missile defencetests, and observation aimed at familiarisation with missile defence systems. They also intend to take thesteps necessary to bring a joint centre for the exchange of data from early warning systems into operation.

The United States and Russia have also agreed to study possible areas for missile defence cooperation,including the expansion of joint exercises related to missile defence, and the exploration of potentialprograms for the joint research and development of missile defence technologies, bearing in mind theimportance of the mutual protection of classified information and the safeguarding of intellectual propertyrights.

The United States and Russia will, within the framework of the NATO-Russia Council, explore opportunitiesfor intensified practical cooperation on missile defence for Europe.

The United States and Russia declare their intention to carry out strategic offensive reductions to thelowest possible levels consistent with their national security requirements and alliance obligations, andreflecting the new nature of their strategic relations.

A major step in this direction is the conclusion of the Treaty Between the United States of America and theRussian Federation on Strategic Offensive Reductions.

In this connection, both sides proceed on the basis that the Treaty Between the United States of Americaand the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms ofJuly 31, 1991, remains in force in accordance with its terms and that its provisions will provide thefoundation for providing confidence, transparency, and predictability in further strategic offensivereductions, along with other supplementary measures, including transparency measures, to be agreed.

The United States and Russia agree that a new strategic relationship between the two countries, based onthe principles of mutual security, trust, openness, cooperation, and predictability requires substantiveconsultation across a broad range of international security issues. To that end we have decided to:

• Establish a Consultative Group for Strategic Security to be chaired by Foreign Ministers and DefenceMinisters with the participation of other senior officials. This group will be the principal mechanism throughwhich the sides strengthen mutual confidence, expand transparency, share information and plans, and discussstrategic issues of mutual interest; and
  
  
• Seek ways to expand and regularise contacts between our two countries' Defence Ministries and ForeignMinistries, and our intelligence agencies.

The President of the United States of America
The President of the Russian Federation

Moscow May 24 2002.