Excerpts: U.S.-Russia Seek Legal Accord For Arms Cuts

--Posture Review Doesn't Address Nuclear Targeting

13 March 2002


The United States and Russia are aiming to produce a legal bilateral
document on offensive nuclear arms cuts that both presidents could sign at
their summit meeting in May, the defense ministers say.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, who appeared with Defense Secretary
Rumsfeld at a Pentagon briefing March 13, said that "current levels of
nuclear ... [weapons] of both Russia and the U.S. are not in line with
today's realities and should be cut radically."

Russia wants "a legally binding document ... comprehensive and
understandable for the whole world ... which ... could be completed and
signed in May at the forthcoming summit meeting," Ivanov said.

Rumsfeld agreed, saying, "[T]he two presidents have agreed that they would
like to have something that would go beyond their two presidencies. So some
sort of a document of that type is certainly a likelihood."

Ivanov added that "some specific results have been achieved." Each side has
exchanged a draft of a proposed future agreement, and the issue of
transparency was clarified, he said.

Asked whether Russia would do the same if the United States insists on
storing but not destroying nuclear warheads it removes from ballistic
missiles, Ivanov said "No matter whether we like it or not ... we'll need to
dispose of some ... nuclear warheads.... [F]or some period of time those
warheads could be stored or shelved, but ... the time will come when those
will have to be destroyed. And ... the same is true for delivery systems."

Following are excerpts of a transcript of the Rumsfeld-Ivanov briefing:

(begin excerpts)

DOD News Briefing Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
March 13, 2002

Joint Press Conference with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov
 (Note: The minister's remarks are provided through an interpreter.)

Rumsfeld: It is a pleasure for me to welcome Minister Sergei Ivanov to the
Pentagon on this, his first official visit as minister of Defense of the
Russian Federation. We've had good discussions over the past days. As busy
as we've been, I think it's worth stopping for a moment to recognize how
much President Bush and President Putin have accomplished during such a
brief period of their presidencies in putting decades of mistrust behind us
and helping to forge a new relationship between our two countries, based on
friendship, cooperation, and the pursuit of common interests.

The U.S. and Russia do indeed have many common interests. We have a common
interest in improved economic ties, a common interest in fighting terrorism
and dealing with the new threats we both face in this dangerous new century.
We have a common interest in working together to reduce offensive nuclear
weapons, weapons that really are a legacy of past hostilities and which are
really no longer needed when Russia and the U.S. are basing our
relationships on friendship, not on fear of mutual annihilation.

Minister Ivanov and I have discussed our progress in the war on terrorism,
and I thanked him for Russia's strong support and for the effort to root out
terrorist networks that threaten our people and our way of life.

That cooperation is certainly a symbol of what is possible between our two
countries.

Let me also say a few words about the Nuclear Posture Review: There's been
some press discussion about leaks from the classified Nuclear Posture
Review. Needless to say, whoever leaked it violated federal criminal law.
First, the Nuclear Posture Review is not an operational planning document.
It sets out prudent requirements for deterrence in the 21st century. Without
getting into the classified details of the report, I can say that the Review
says nothing about targeting any country with nuclear weapons. The United
States targets no country on a day-to-day basis.

With respect to Russia, I can say this: that the Russian Federation was
briefed on the Nuclear Posture Review back in January. Minister Ivanov has
been briefed personally, earlier this week. President Bush and President
Putin have said many times that Russia and the United States are no longer
adversaries. It is true.

Both Minister Ivanov and I have reaffirmed this during our meetings during
the past few days.

Russia is, of course, recognized as having formidable nuclear capabilities,
and Russia faces some strategic issues around its periphery. Our Review
prudently takes this into account.

The Review also notes that there is no longer any ideological source of
conflict with Russia. The United States seeks a cooperative relationship
with Russia that moves away from a mutual assured destruction of the past.
And, because of this new relationship, the United States can prudently
reduce the size of its operationally deployed strategic nuclear forces by
some two thirds.

If I may quote from an unclassified paragraph of that report: "To address
Russia today as if it were the Soviet Union would preclude the more
cooperative relationship that is sought by the United States."

President Bush and President Putin and their administrations are building a
more cooperative relationship, and I believe have very likely had more
interaction across a broad range of political, economic and security issues
in the last 12 months than perhaps -- than at any other 12-month period in
the history of our countries.

(Interpreter translates Rumsfeld's remarks into Russian.)

Rumsfeld: Our cooperation in the global war on terrorism suggests that if we
have the wisdom and the courage to work together for the common interests of
our people, that there's a great deal that can be accomplished.

Thank you.

(Interpreter translates Rumsfeld's remarks into Russian.)

Ivanov: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The stay of the Russian
delegation in the U.S. in Washington and meetings and talks which we have
had here, including the meeting with the U.S. president, have demonstrated
once again how important those cooperation and relationships between the two
countries are for the fates and destinies of the whole world.

I would like to thank my counterpart, Mr. Secretary, once again for the
invitation to visit Washington for very interesting and productive
discussions, which showed that we not only can but we should define ways to
enhance the effectiveness or the efficiency of our relationships with the
U.S. in terms of strategic stability, in terms of fighting terrorism and in
terms of military -- the cooperation in the area of military relations and
military and technical cooperation.  How important all of those issues are
for the security of the whole globe.

The presidents of the two countries have assigned us a very clear-cut task,
and that is to forge new strategic relationships between Russia and the U.S.
and to strengthen our partnership in the face of new threats and challenges
which are emerging in the world. And it requires the development of a new
framework of strategic relationship in order -- between Russia and the U.S.
-- in order to strengthen the strategic stability between the two countries
and in the whole world.

We fully realize that the current levels of the nuclear potentials of both
Russia and the U.S. are not in line with today's realities and should be cut
radically.

We also believe that there should be a legally binding document which would
be comprehensive and understandable for the whole world and which would also
reflect the transparency which we need to achieve between the two countries.

And based on those objectives and tasks which we were assigned, I would like
to see the best progress we can make in forging that document so that it
could be completed and signed in May at the forthcoming summit meeting.

By this time, I think that some specific results have been achieved. The
U.S. and Russian experts exchanged the drafts of what they realize to be a
future agreement, and the issue of transparency was also clarified. In the
course of the meetings and talks which we had, we have discussed the issues
concerning combating terrorism, and nonproliferation and situations in some
crisis areas of the world.

And our intention is not to stop, and move further progress to make our
positions closer regarding all the issues which I've just mentioned, given
all the interests of the two countries are properly accounted for. And in
those areas where it is necessary, the interests of some third parties
should also be accounted for.

Well, our visit is not yet finished. Tomorrow I'm going to meet Secretary of
State Colin Powell and some officials of the security services.

Thank you.

Rumsfeld: Why don't we try and take a question from the U.S. side and then
possibly from a representative from the Russian media.

Charlie, do you want to start?

Q: Mr. Minister, Charlie Aldinger with Reuters.

Russia has raised strong objections to the United States' plans to shelve
some of the nuclear weapons which are planned under arms cuts -- some
nuclear. If the United States presses ahead with that move, would Russia
follow suit and also shelve or store nuclear weapons, rather than destroying
them? And Mr. Secretary, is shelving --

Rumsfeld: It would be wonderful if people could ask one question of one
person, and then we could get around the room and maybe have a few more.
Might not be possible, but it'd be wonderful. (Laughter.)

Q: Will Russia shelve arms if the United States does, rather than destroying
them?

Ivanov: Well, as I mentioned, we base our positions, our attitudes on the
principle of equal security. So all options are being discussed, and we will
always try to inform the opposite party - our counterparts on the plans. And
that's the essence of the talks which are underway now.

Rumsfeld: Yes.

Q: In your negotiations, Minister Ivanov, has the U.S. side shown a
willingness to meet Russian demands to destroy the warheads, rather than to
store them?

Ivanov: Well, I would address that question in the following way: No matter
whether we like it or not, whether we want it or not, we'll need to dispose
of some of [our] nuclear warheads, no matter if we want it or not.

Well, it is true that for some period of time, those warheads could be
stored or shelved, but anyway, the time will inevitably come when those will
have to be destroyed. And as a matter of principle, the same is true about
delivery systems.

(end excerpts)

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