    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [July 17, 2006]
    [Pages 1415-1417]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Joint Statement by President George W. Bush and President Vladimir V.
    Putin
    July 17, 2006

        The United States and the Russian Federation believe that
    strengthening their cooperation in civil nuclear energy is in the
    strategic interests of both our countries. It will serve as an
    additional assurance of access for other nations to economical and
    environmentally safe peaceful nuclear energy.
        The United States and the Russian Federation are working together to
    meet the challenges posed by the combination of proliferation of weapons
    of mass destruction and international terrorism. We recognize the
    devastation that could befall our peoples and the world community if
    nuclear weapons or materials or other weapons of mass destruction were
    to fall into the hands of terrorists. We are closely cooperating to
    lessen that unacceptable danger, including by strengthening the
    nonproliferation regime and ensuring the security of nuclear weapons and
    fissile materials.

    Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy

        The United States and the Russian Federation are convinced that
    reliable and sufficient energy supplies are the cornerstone of
    sustainable economic development and prosperity for all nations, and a
    necessary condition for maintaining international stability. Today
    nuclear energy is a proven technology for providing reliable electric
    power without emissions of greenhouse gases, and is an essential part of
    any solution to meet growing energy demand.
        We share the view that nuclear energy has an essential role in the
    promotion of energy security, which is an issue of special concern for
    the leaders of the G-8. Advancing nuclear energy will require further
    development of innovative technologies that reduce the risk of
    proliferation, provide for safe management of waste, are economically
    viable, and are environmentally safe.
        Being consistent in our approach to assure access to the benefits of
    nuclear energy for all nations complying with their non-proliferation
    obligations, we have each proposed initiatives on the development of a
    global nuclear energy infrastructure, specifically the Russian proposal
    to establish a system of international centers to provide nuclear fuel
    services, including uranium enrichment, under International Atomic
    Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, and the U.S. proposal for the Global
    Nuclear Energy Partnership to develop innovative nuclear reactor and
    fuel cycle technologies.
        Following up on these initiatives, the United States and the Russian
    Federation

    [[Page 1416]]

    intend to work together, actively involving the IAEA, to allow all
    nations to enjoy the benefits of nuclear energy without pursuing uranium
    enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities.
        The United States and the Russian Federation together with four
    other nuclear fuel supplier states have also proposed a concept for
    reliable access to nuclear fuel for consideration and development at the
    IAEA.
        We call upon other countries to join us to facilitate the safe and
    secure expansion of nuclear energy worldwide. Proceeding from our
    national interests and common goals, and recognizing the benefits of
    civil commercial nuclear trade, we express our intent to develop
    bilateral cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
        We have directed our Governments to begin negotiations with the
    purpose of concluding an agreement between the United States and the
    Russian Federation on cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

    Countering Nuclear Proliferation

        We recognize the vital role of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation
    of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in the prevention of nuclear proliferation and
    the importance of the IAEA in implementing safeguards required by the
    NPT. We are working with our G-8 partners to make the Additional
    Protocol an essential norm for verifying compliance with nuclear
    safeguards obligations. We welcome the establishment of the IAEA
    Committee on Safeguards and Verification. We are actively fulfilling our
    obligations under Article VI of the NPT by substantially reducing
    nuclear forces as we implement the Moscow Treaty of May 24, 2002.
        We reiterate our support for effective measures to prevent transfers
    of sensitive nuclear equipment, materials and technologies to states
    that may seek to use them for weapons purposes, or allow them to fall
    into terrorists' hands, and will work together to this end.
        We reiterate our commitments undertaken under the Bratislava Joint
    Statement on Nuclear Security Cooperation of February 24, 2005. We have
    made substantial progress in the implementation of those commitments and
    we reaffirm our goal of completing nuclear security upgrades by the end
    of 2008.
        We welcome the continued cooperation and the recent extension of the
    Cooperative Threat Reduction Agreement to ensure full implementation of
    the ongoing projects launched earlier under this Agreement. In this
    context, we take note of the start of operations of the Mayak Fissile
    Materials Storage Facility. We continue discussions on how best to
    implement our commitments to the disposition by each side of 34 metric
    tons of weapons grade plutonium.
        We applaud the extension of UN Security Council Resolution 1540, the
    adoption by the UN General Assembly of the International Convention for
    the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, and the decision by the
    States Parties to strengthen the Convention on Physical Protection of
    Nuclear Material.
        We will continue to advance the objectives of the Proliferation
    Security Initiative, which makes an important contribution to countering
    the trafficking in WMD, their delivery means, and related materials. We
    welcome increasing international endorsement for the initiative, as was
    demonstrated at the High Level Political Meeting in Warsaw. We take note
    of the discussion at that meeting on how PSI states can work
    cooperatively to prevent and disrupt proliferation finance, in
    furtherance of UNSCR 1540.
        We look forward to reinforcing our partnership with India. We
    welcome the important nonproliferation commitments India has made, and
    India's closer alignment with the nonproliferation regime mainstream. We
    look forward to working with India on

    [[Page 1417]]

    civil nuclear cooperation to address its energy requirements, and on
    further enhancing the global nonproliferation regime. We will continue
    to work together to strengthen the global non-proliferation regime.
        We are especially concerned by the failure of the Iranian government
    to engage seriously on the proposals made by the P-5 countries and
    Germany. In this context, we stand fully behind the decision by Foreign
    Ministers on July 12. We are seriously concerned by North Korea's
    ballistic missile tests and urge it to return to a moratorium on such
    launches, to the Six-Party Talks, and to full implementation of the
    September 19, 2005 agreement. The United States and the Russian
    Federation are actively working for unity among the UN Security Council
    members on these sensitive issues. We will continue consultations with
    our G-8 partners to strengthen the global non-proliferation regime.
        Through our cooperation in the field of nuclear nonproliferation we
    seek to improve the security of our own peoples and of all others in the
    world community. In doing so, we are building on the unique historic
    roles and responsibilities of the United States and the Russian
    Federation in nuclear science and technology, both military and
    civilian. We are united in our determination to help make the benefits
    of nuclear energy securely available to all for peaceful purposes.

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