[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
[May 24, 2002]
[Pages 869-873]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Joint Declaration by President George W. Bush and President Vladimir V. 
Putin on the New Strategic Relationship 
Between the United States of America and the Russian Federation
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 the new spirit of cooperation already 
achieved;
    Building on the November 13, 2001 Joint Statement on a New 
Relationship Between the United States and Russia, having embarked upon 
the path of new relations for the twenty-first century, and committed to 
developing a relationship based on friendship, cooperation, common 
values, trust, openness, and predictability;
    Reaffirming our belief that new global challenges and threats 
require a qualitatively new foundation for our relationship;
    Determined to work together, with other nations and with 
international organizations, to respond to these new challenges and 
threats, and thus contribute to a peaceful, prosperous, and free world 
and to strengthening strategic 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 other as 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 regional conflicts.
    To advance these objectives the United States and Russia will 
continue an intensive dialogue on pressing international and regional 
problems, both on a bilateral basis and in international fora, including 
in the UN Security Council, the G-8, and the OSCE. Where we have 
differences, we will work to resolve them in a spirit of mutual respect.
    We will respect the essential values of democracy, human rights, 
free speech and free media, tolerance, the rule of law, and economic 
opportunity.
    We recognize that the security, prosperity, and future hopes of our 
peoples rest on a benign security environment, the advancement of 
political and economic freedoms, and international cooperation.
    The further development of U.S.-Russian relations and the 
strengthening of mutual understanding and trust will also rest on a 
growing network of ties between our societies and peoples. We will 
support growing economic interaction between the business communities of 
our two countries and people-to-people and cultural contacts and 
exchanges.

Political Cooperation

    The United States and Russia are already acting as partners and 
friends in meeting the new challenges of the 21st century; affirming our 
Joint Statement of October 21, 2001, our countries are already allied in 
the global struggle against international terrorism.
    The United States and Russia will continue to cooperate to support 
the Afghan people's efforts to transform Afghanistan into a stable, 
viable nation at peace with itself and its neighbors. Our cooperation, 
bilaterally and through the United Nations, the ``Six-Plus-Two'' 
diplomatic process, and in other multilateral fora, has proved important 
to our success so far in ridding Afghanistan of the Taliban and al-
Qaida.

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    In Central Asia and the South Caucasus, we recognize our common 
interest in promoting the stability, sovereignty, and territorial 
integrity of all the nations of this region. The United States and 
Russia reject the 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 our humanitarian cooperation and cooperation on counterterrorism 
and counternarcotics.
    The United States and Russia will cooperate to resolve regional 
conflicts, including those in Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh, and the 
Transnistrian issue in Moldova. We strongly encourage the Presidents of 
Azerbaijan and Armenia to exhibit flexibility and a constructive approach to 
resolving the conflict concerning Nagorno-Karabakh. As two of the Co-
Chairmen of the OSCE's Minsk Group, the United States and Russia stand 
ready to assist in these efforts.
    On November 13, 2001, we pledged to work together to develop a new 
relationship between NATO and Russia that reflects the new strategic 
reality in the Euro-Atlantic region. We stressed that the members of 
NATO and Russia are increasingly allied against terrorism, regional 
instability, and other contemporary threats. We therefore welcome the 
inauguration at the May 28, 2002 NATO-Russia summit in Rome of a new 
NATO-Russia Council, whose members, acting in their national capacities 
and in a manner consistent with their respective collective commitments 
and obligations, will identify common approaches, take joint decisions, 
and bear equal responsibility, individually and jointly, for their 
implementation. In this context, they will observe in good faith their 
obligations under international law, including the UN Charter, 
provisions and principles contained in the Helsinki Final Act and the 
OSCE Charter for European Security. In the framework of the NATO-Russia 
Council, NATO member states and Russia will work as equal partners in 
areas of common interest. They aim to stand 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 joint and parallel efforts, including 
in the framework of the ``Quartet,'' to overcome the current crisis in 
the Middle East, to restart negotiations, and to encourage a negotiated 
settlement. In the Balkans, we will promote democracy, ethnic tolerance, 
self-sustaining peace, and long-term stability, based on respect for the 
sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states in the region and 
United Nations Security Council resolutions. The United States and 
Russia will continue their constructive dialogue on Iraq and welcome the 
continuation of special bilateral discussions that opened the way for UN 
Security Council adoption of the Goods Review List.
    Recalling our Joint Statement of November 13, 2001 on 
counternarcotics cooperation, we note that illegal drug trafficking 
poses a threat to our peoples and to international security, and 
represents a substantial source of financial support for international 
terrorism. We are committed to intensifying cooperation against this 
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 against transnational organized crime. In this 
regard, we welcome the entry into force of the Treaty on Mutual Legal 
Assistance in Criminal Matters on January 31, 2002.

Economic Cooperation

    The United States and Russia believe that successful national 
development in the 21st century demands respect for the discipline and 
practices of the free market. As we stated on November 13, 2001, an open 
market economy, the freedom of economic choice, and an open democratic 
society are the most effective means to provide

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for the welfare of the citizens of our countries.
    The United States and Russia will endeavor to make use of the 
potential of world trade to expand the economic ties between the two 
countries, and to further integrate Russia into the world economy as a 
leading participant, with full rights and responsibilities, consistent 
with the rule of law, in the world economic system. In this connection, 
the sides give high priority to Russia's accession to the World Trade 
Organization on standard terms.
    Success in our bilateral economic and trade relations demands that 
we move beyond the limitations of the past. We stress the importance and 
desirability of graduating Russia from the emigration provisions of the 
U.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 
June 14, 2002 on whether Russia should be treated as a market economy 
under the provisions of U.S. trade law. The sides will take further 
practical steps to eliminate obstacles and barriers, including as 
appropriate in the legislative area, to strengthen economic cooperation.
    We have established a new dynamic in our economic relations and 
between our business communities, aimed at advancing trade and 
investment opportunities while resolving disputes, where they occur, 
constructively and transparently.
    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 the 
Russian-American Business Dialogue, we are committed to working with the 
private sectors of our countries to realize the full potential of our 
economic interaction. We also welcome the opportunity to intensify 
cooperation 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 dramatic expansion of contacts between 
Americans and Russians in the past ten years in many areas, including 
joint efforts to resolve common problems in education, health, the 
sciences, and environment, as well as through tourism, sister-city 
relationships, and other people-to-people contacts. We pledge to 
continue supporting these 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 the environment, and defending the rights of 
women are areas where U.S. and Russian institutions, and especially non-
governmental organizations, 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 the twenty-first century, 
including combating the closely linked threats of international 
terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their 
means of delivery. We believe that international terrorism represents a 
particular danger to international stability as shown once more by the 
tragic events of September 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 and multilaterally.
    The United States and Russia recognize the profound importance of 
preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction and missiles. The 
specter that such weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists and

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those who support 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 security of weapons of mass 
destruction and missile technologies, information, expertise, and 
material. We will also continue cooperative threat reduction programs 
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 of weapons-usable fissile material to be 
eliminated, and to recommend collaborative research and development 
efforts on advanced, proliferation-resistant nuclear reactor and fuel 
cycle technologies. We also intend to intensify our cooperation 
concerning destruction of chemical weapons.
    The United States and Russia will also seek broad international 
support for a strategy of proactive non-proliferation, including by 
implementing and bolstering the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of 
Nuclear Weapons and the conventions on the prohibition of chemical and 
biological weapons. The United States and Russia 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 of mass destruction.

Missile Defense, Further Strategic Offensive Reductions, New 
Consultative Mechanism on Strategic Security

    The United States and Russia proceed from the Joint Statements by 
the President of the United States of America and the President of the 
Russian Federation on Strategic Issues of July 22, 2001 in Genoa and on 
a New Relationship 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 the strategic relationship between 
them.The United States and Russia acknowledge that today's security 
environment is fundamentally different than during the Cold War.
    In this connection, the United States and Russia have agreed to 
implement a number of steps aimed at strengthening confidence and 
increasing transparency in the area of missile defense, including the 
exchange of information on missile defense programs and tests in this 
area, reciprocal visits to observe missile defense tests, and 
observation aimed at familiarization with missile defense systems. They 
also intend to take the steps necessary to bring a joint center 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 defense cooperation, including the expansion of joint 
exercises related to missile defense, and the exploration of potential 
programs for the joint research and development of missile defense 
technologies, bearing in mind the importance of the mutual protection of 
classified information and the safeguarding of intellectual property 
rights.
    The United States and Russia will, within the framework of the NATO-
Russia Council, explore opportunities for intensified practical 
cooperation on missile defense for Europe.
    The United States and Russia declare their intention to carry out 
strategic offensive reductions to the lowest possible levels consistent 
with their national security requirements and alliance obligations, and 
reflecting 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 the Russian Federation on 
Strategic Offensive Reductions.
    In this connection, both sides proceed on the basis that the Treaty 
Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist 
Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms of 
July 31, 1991, remains in force

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in accordance with its terms and that its provisions will provide the 
foundation for providing confidence, transparency, and predictability in 
further strategic offensive reductions, 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 on the principles of mutual security, 
trust, openness, cooperation, and predictability requires substantive 
consultation 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 Defense Ministers with the 
            participation of other senior officials. This group will be 
            the principal mechanism through which the sides strengthen 
            mutual confidence, expand transparency, share information 
            and plans, and discuss strategic issues of mutual interest; 
            and
     seek ways to expand and regularize contacts between our two 
            countries' Defense Ministries and Foreign Ministries, and 
            our intelligence agencies.


 The President of the                    The President of the
 United States of America:               Russian Federation:
  George W. Bush                          Vladimir V. Putin
 

 Moscow

 May 24, 2002.

Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of 
this joint declaration.