Posted on 05/24/2002 5:57:31 PM PDT by grimalkin
Moscow May 24. The Russian and U.S. Presidents, Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush, agreed today to launch a ``new energy dialogue'' that could reduce U.S. dependency on West Asian oil supplies and provide a major boost to the Russian economy.
``World economic growth depends on the stability and reliability of energy supplies,'' they said in a joint statement. Russia is ``one of the biggest world energy suppliers, and in order to increase international energy security and (market) stability, we have agreed to launch a bilateral energy dialogue,'' the statement said, as quoted by the Interfax news agency.
Enhanced Russia-U.S. cooperation in the energy sector would reduce U.S. dependency on the volatile West Asian and Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries suppliers and damp down price movements.
In return Russia, already the world's second largest supplier of crude after Saudi Arabia, would regain some of the market share it lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union and receive a major boost to its economy.
However, observers said the agreement was unlikely to give rise to an immediate surge of Russian oil on the U.S. market.
In another sign of the new camaraderie between the two nations, Mr. Bush today said he was determined to get the U.S. Congress to lift the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a Soviet-era piece of legislation withholding favourable trade tariffs from Russia.
``I am determined to work with Congress to remove Russia from the Jackson-Vanik amendment. It is time our Congress responded. My request and President Putin's desire is that the Jackson-Vanik amendment be removed pertaining to Russia,'' Mr. Bush told a joint press conference in the Kremlin.
Moves in the Congress to ``graduate'' Russia from the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a 1974 law penalising Moscow for its restrictions on the movement of Soviet Jews, have stalled amid a bitter dispute over U.S. poultry exports.
The U.S. Senate, while supporting granting Russia permanent normal trade relations, said yesterday it would only lift the amendment — widely recognised as an anachronism — ``at the appropriate time.''
Mr. Putin is also looking to Mr. Bush to help Russia gain the status of a free-market economy entitling it to U.S. trade benefits a decade after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Russia applied for market economy status in July 2001, but the process is a tortuous one and the U.S. Department of Trade has still to conclude hearings on whether or not to accord Russia the designation.
Despite the new-found bonhomie, Mr. Bush and Mr. Putin differed publicly over Iran at their summit today, with the latter denying that his country's cooperation with Teheran could help it acquire nuclear weapons. Mr. Bush said he had had thorough discussions with Mr. Putin about Russia's dealings with the Islamic republic.— AFP, Reuters
Ah, Washington, home of sanity.
Some things are just too wonderful to contemplate.
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