[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 36, Number 23 (Monday, June 12, 2000)]
[Pages 1284-1288]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's News Conference With President Vladimir Putin of Russia 
in Moscow

June 4, 2000

    President Putin.  Good day, ladies and gentlemen. I will allow 
myself to begin summing up our 2 days of work with our guests and 
partners, with the President of the United States, Mr. Bill Clinton, and 
members of his team. For 2 days now, we worked very intensively. And I 
have to say right off the bat that both in terms of the spirit and the 
quality of our talks, as well as the results, the Russian side cannot 
but express its satisfaction.
    We discussed issues of interest in our opinion not only to the 
United States and the Russian Federation but to the other countries, as 
well, on global matters--all of mankind's interest really lies here. We 
discussed in great detail everything that had been done in this very 
important--issues of interest to both of our sides, and that which have 
been in the last several years. We agree that we're going to be acting 
in this direction jointly in the future.
    We discussed the issues of new global threats, threats such as 
terrorism, narcotics, crime. We talked about issues which, to our mind, 
have a certain solution; in the estimation of our American colleagues, 
maybe have a different kind of a solution. We exchanged ideas and 
opinions on issues to which we had different solutions in the past. 
These talks were very candid, very open, and very topical.
    As you know, with my colleague, with the President of the United 
States, I signed several documents, including statements on security. 
And many things are determined and defined there, and much is said in 
these documents. The result I think can be summed up by saying that we 
not only confirmed the high level of our relations, but we also 
expressed the trend of the development of our relations between our two 
countries for the near future.
    I wanted to stress here, ladies and gentlemen, the following, that 
over the last period of time, say a year or even more, the relations 
between our two countries have been of a varied kind. At one time, we 
had relations increasing and improving, then they would be falling. But 
that high level, which was reached over the last 8 years by the efforts 
of the Russian leadership and of the administration of President 
Clinton, allowed us to always find a way out of these crises with honor, 
not only to reestablish good relations but also to solve problems where 
we had disagreements. And we really cherish this. I am pleased to note 
here that in these very tough questions, we observed not only a desire 
to speak but also to find joint and mutually beneficial solutions.
    We discussed also topics that had to do with bilateral economic 
interests. Here I wanted to say that the Russian Federation, in the face 
of your humble servant and the Chairman of the Government, the Prime 
Minister, Mr. Kasyanov, the leading ministers of the Government who 
participated and took part in these talks and negotiations not only 
informed and described to our American guests what's happening 
economically in Russia today but also discussed with

[[Page 1285]]

our partners joint actions, joint activities, both of a bilateral nature 
as well as within the framework of international financial institutions.
    I wanted to stress here as well that the Russian Federation aims not 
only to go through its transformation, about which many people have so 
much spoken, but very decisively to do so in a practical way. I mean 
moving ahead on the tax code and moving ahead on production sharing. 
Here we have some issues which we have not yet been able to resolve 
between us and the state Duma, but I think these are rather technical 
issues. I think, together with the Deputies in the state Duma, we're 
going to be trying to find solutions and finally get this legislation.
    We spoke about the upcoming international events, the Okinawa 
summit, the Millennium summit in the United Nations in New York, the 
Brunei meeting. In this way, Mr. Clinton and myself, we have reached an 
accord on further joint progress along a whole series of issues, which 
not only we discussed today and yesterday and which we will still have 
an opportunity to discuss some more tomorrow, to move ahead on these 
issues at the events that I have listed.
    On behalf of the leadership of the Russian Federation, I want to 
thank the American delegation not only for accepting our invitation and 
coming to Russia but for a very constructive and businesslike discussion 
in an attempt to find solutions.
    Thank you so much for your attention.
    President Clinton.  I would like to first thank President Putin and 
the Russian delegation for making us feel welcome and for these talks.
    I have come to Moscow at an important time. Russia, after all, has a 
new President, new government, new Duma. Its economy is showing 
encouraging signs of growth. This gives Russia a pivotal opportunity to 
build on the strong record of engagement between our two countries. It 
is also an opportunity for the United States.
    I welcome President Putin's interest in building a Russia that 
enjoys the enduring strength of a stable democracy. President Yeltsin 
led Russia to freedom. Under President Putin, Russia has the chance to 
build prosperity and strength, while safeguarding that freedom and the 
rule of law.
    We've had good discussions both last night and today on a range of 
common interests, including nonproliferation and arms control. We 
expressed our differences with clarity and candor. And I, for one, 
appreciate that. The importance of this relationship to ourselves and 
the world demands that we take every opportunity we can to find common 
ground and that, where we cannot find it, we express our differences 
with clarity and candor.
    I congratulated President Putin on the key role he played in the 
Duma's ratification of START II and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. 
The United States ratified START II first, and I hope we will now follow 
Russia in ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. I also look 
forward to the ratification of the START II protocols by our Senate so 
that we can get about the business of further reducing the number of 
nuclear missiles that we have.
    I am very pleased today we agreed on two other major steps to reduce 
the nuclear danger. We reached an important agreement each to destroy 34 
tons of military-grade plutonium, enough to make thousands of warheads. 
This raw weapon material that will now never fall into the wrong hands.
    We also agreed to establish a joint data exchange center in Moscow 
to share early warning information on missile and space launches. This 
is terribly important. It is the first permanent U.S.-Russia military 
operation ever.
    In this new center, Russian and American military officials will be 
working side by side, 24 hours a day, to monitor missile warning 
information. It is a milestone in enhancing strategic stability, and I 
welcome it.
    The President and I also discussed our common commitment to prevent 
the proliferation of missile technology and our determination to exert 
firm control over exports of sensitive technology and strictly enforce 
export control laws and regulations.
    We discussed our common interest in commercial space cooperation, 
including the successful joint venture that launches commercial 
satellites. We agreed that our teams

[[Page 1286]]

would soon meet to discuss future cooperation in the commercial space 
area, with the aim of moving toward eliminating existing constraints on 
commercial space launches.
    We also had a thorough discussion of our work on the START III 
treaty and the issue of national missile defense. We have agreed to a 
statement of principles, which I urge you to read carefully. It makes 
clear that there is an emerging ballistic missile threat that must be 
addressed, though we have not yet agreed on how best to do so.
    We have acknowledged that the ABM Treaty foresees the possibility of 
changes in the strategic environment that might require it to be 
updated. We have reaffirmed our commitment to pursue further reduction 
in offensive arms in parallel with our discussions on defense systems, 
underscoring the importance of the doctrines of strategic stability and 
mutual deterrence as the foundation for this work.
    We've asked our experts to keep working to narrow the differences 
and to develop a series of cooperative measures to address the missile 
threat. And we have agreed that we will continue to discuss it in our 
next meeting.
    We spent a large share of our time discussing economics. I'm 
encouraged by the economic plan President Putin has outlined and by the 
current recovery. I look forward to Russia's continuing to implement 
proposed reforms that will actually make the recovery last, reforms such 
as tax reform, anti-money-laundering legislation, strong property rights 
protections.
    I look forward to Russia's successful negotiations with the IMF. 
This is a good economic team with a very good opportunity to increase 
investment in Russia, both the return of money that Russians have placed 
outside the country and new investments from other countries.
    Later this month, our former Ambassador to Moscow, Bob Strauss, will 
come to Russia with a delegation of investors, including some of 
America's best-known chief executive officers, to discuss opportunities 
in Russia and the steps Russia is taking to improve its investment 
climate. I think this will be only the beginning of a very successful 
effort at economic reform, if the intentions that President Putin 
outlined become reality.
    The President and I also discussed another area where we disagree, 
Chechnya. I have restated the opposition that I have to a policy which 
is well-known. Essentially, I believe a policy that causes so many 
civilian casualties without a political solution ultimately cannot 
succeed. I also urged President Putin to move forward with transparent 
and impartial investigations of the stories of human rights violations 
and to authorize a speedy return of the OSCE to the region.
    Finally, I stressed to President Putin the importance the United 
States places on protecting religious freedom and the rights of an 
independent media. I strongly agree with what President Putin himself 
has said, that Russia has no future if it suppresses civic freedoms and 
the press.
    We agreed to advance our technical cooperation on climate change. We 
believe it's essential to complete work on the Kyoto Protocol, including 
market mechanisms, to protect the environment, promote clean energy, and 
reduce costs. I think Russia has a great economic opportunity here as 
well as a great environmental one.
    And on these issues, the President and I are asking the U.S.-Russia 
binational commission, under the leadership of Vice President Gore and 
Prime Minister Kasyanov, to carry forward the work.
    I was encouraged by our discussion, pleased with our agreements, 
pleased with the candor and clarity of our disagreements. I am eager for 
more progress. I'm also looking forward to the chance to talk to the 
Russian people tonight in a radio talk show, and tomorrow, as I have the 
opportunity to speak to the Duma and the Federation Council.
    Again Mr. President, I thank you for this and especially for these 
two agreements, and I look forward to our continued work together.

Russia-U.S. Relations

    Q.  The question to the President of Russia. What is the priority 
you give to Russian-American relations in the world, and a world that, 
as we see, is changing and forming in a different way?
    Thank you.

[[Page 1287]]

    President Putin.  The history of relations of the former Soviet 
Union and the United States of America, and now Russian Federation and 
the United States--its history, as I've said, has many dramatic as well 
as many positive elements. We were allies. There was a period of time 
when we suffered through confrontation between our two sides. One would 
hope that the very worst in our relations is far, far behind us.
    For today, the United States is one of our main partners. And as far 
as Russia is concerned, it will never make the choice regarding the 
United States in order to start once again confrontation. Never. We are 
for cooperation. We are for coming to agreement on problems that might 
arise.
    And naturally, problems like this exist and have existed and 
probably will exist. That is not important. What's important is that the 
approach to finding a solution is only one--it's unique--it cannot be 
aimed at destroying everything positive that has been achieved in the 
recent past but also looking into the future. And this kind of chance 
and this intention among the leadership of Russia, as well as I 
understand it, among the leadership of the United States, the President 
of the United States, we are going to follow these principles, these 
kinds of tendencies.

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty

    Q.  Mr. President, do you see the chance that the United States 
would exercise its option to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile 
Treaty if it is not possible to negotiate changes to permit a national 
missile defense? And was this possibility raised in your discussions 
with President Putin?
    President Clinton.  Well, first of all, I have not made a decision 
on the national missile defense stage one. It is premature. The 
statement of principles that we have agreed to I thought reflected an 
attempt to bring our positions closer together. I do not believe the 
decision before me is a threat to strategic stability and mutual 
deterrence. The Russian side disagrees. But we had a lot of agreement 
here.
    And again, let me say, I urge you all to read that. I do not want 
the United States to withdraw from the ABM regime because, I think, it 
has contributed to a more stable, more peaceful world. It has already 
been amended once, and its framers understood that circumstances might 
change and threats might arise which were outside the context of U.S.-
now Russian relations. We acknowledge that there is a threat. It needs 
to be met, and we're trying to bridge our differences. And I think 
that's where we ought to leave it.

START Treaties

    Q.  President Clinton, Mr. President, what do you feel about 
Russia's continuation of reducing within START III the number of 
warheads down to 1,500 warheads?
    Thank you.
    President Clinton.  I missed the translation. Would you give it to 
me again?
    Q.  What would be the attitude of the United States, Mr. President, 
on the Russian position of coming down to 1,500 warheads within START 
III?
    President Clinton.  Well, we had previously agreed to a range of 
2,000 to 2,500 on START III. If we were to come down below that, it 
would require us to change our strategic plan. And we believe it would 
be much better if we were going to do that, if we could also know that 
we were defending ourselves against a new threat, which we believe is 
real. So we will continue to discuss all these things.
    Let me say, I am certain--I am eager to get down to the START II 
levels, and I am eager to go below the START II levels, but I also want 
to try to solve the new threat, as well. And I will do whatever I can to 
achieve both objectives.

Clinton/Putin Relationship

    Q.  This is for both Presidents. Now that you have met together as 
Presidents, how would you describe each other's personalities and 
leadership qualities? And how do you see them affecting relations 
between the two countries? And in particular, President Clinton, are you 
any more or less assured about the future of democracy in Russia 
following your meetings today?
    President Clinton.  You want to go first?

[[Page 1288]]

    President Putin.  As you know, this is not our first meeting, 
between myself and President Clinton. President Clinton, now for almost 
8 years, heads one of the most powerful countries in the world. He's a 
very experienced politician. In my mind, we've established now not only 
good business ties but also personal relations. For me, President 
Clinton is a person who is a very comfortable and pleasant partner in 
negotiations.
    I think that if everyone behaves the way President Clinton has 
behaved, not trying to find dead ends and problems but to seek ways of 
moving ahead, I think, between us in the future our relations really 
will be successful. Take a look at the ABM Treaty. There are a lot of 
problems there. We've written down in our statement, about which Mr. 
Clinton just spoke, a basis, a principle of basis for maintaining the 
ABM Treaty as a major key point in the whole strategic balance and for 
maintaining security.
    Now, the starting point for the possibility of seeing new threats 
arrive, we have a commonality. We're against having a cure which is 
worse than the disease. We understand that there are ways and a basis 
that we can build upon in order to solve even this issue, an issue which 
seems to be one of the most difficult to solve.
    So I repeat, we know that today, in the United States, there is a 
campaign ongoing. We're familiar with the programs of the two main 
candidates. And if these programs are implemented, and there it says, 
for instance, the necessity to positively improve relations between 
Russia and the United States, the time that Mr. Clinton is going to pass 
on to the next President, no matter who gets to be President, we're 
willing to go forward on either one of these approaches.
    Thank you.
    President Clinton.  Well, let me say first, I think President Putin 
has an enormous opportunity and a great challenge. If you want to know 
what my personal assessment is, I think he is fully capable of building 
a prosperous, strong Russia, while preserving freedom and pluralism and 
the rule of law. It's a big challenge. I think he is fully capable of 
doing it.
    And I want to use the time I have remaining as President not only to 
further the interests of the United States in meeting our national 
security threat but also to further our interest in having a good, 
stable relationship with a Russia that is strong and prosperous and 
free, respecting pluralism and the rule of law. That's what I'm trying 
to do. I think he is fully capable of achieving that. And I'm encouraged 
by the first 2 days of our really serious work.

 Note:  The President's 191st news conference began at 6:55 p.m. in St. 
George's Hall in the Kremlin. In his remarks, he referred to former 
President Boris Yeltsin and current Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov of 
Russia. President Putin and some reporters spoke in Russian, and their 
remarks were translated by an interpreter.