[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 29 (Monday, July 24, 2006)]
[Pages 1356-1358]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 intend to work together, actively involving the

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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 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

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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.