[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.