US President George W. Bush and visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Tuesday that their countries will respectively cut the nuclear arsenal, but the two leaders failed to bridge their rift on missile defense.
At a joint news conference at the White House after their talks, Bush and Putin said they had found common ground on numerous issues -- the war on terrorism and the shape of a future government in Afghanistan as well as the Middle East issue.
However, they said disagreements remain over American plans to develop a missile defense shield, adding that they would continue discussions on the subject over the next two days in Texas.
"I have informed President Putin that the United States will reduce our operationally deployed, strategic nuclear warheads to a level between 1,700 to 2,200 within the next decade, a level fully consistent with American security," Bush said.
The resulting force will be "fully consistent with American security," he added.
Bush said he and Putin retain differing viewpoints on the American plans to develop a missile defense shield, and that "we will continue dialogue and discussion" on the subject.
Meanwhile, Putin said that his country will try to respond in kind after Bush said he will cut the US nuclear arsenal. But he gave no precise figures.
"We appreciate very much the decision by the president," said Putin, who has long sought mutual reductions to about 1,500 warheads. "We, for our part, will try to respond in kind."
"We intend to dismantle conclusively the vestiges of the Cold War and to develop (an) entirely new partnership for (the) long term," Putin said.
The United States currently has roughly 7,000 intercontinental nuclear warheads, while Russia has an estimated 5,800.
Putin said he wanted a "reliable and verifiable agreement," appearing to differ with US views that a complex strategic arms treaty was unnecessary.
He also said Russia had not modified its position on the US missile defense program, which Russia opposes, but that talks would continue.
Asked about the military campaign in Afghanistan, the alleged hideout of suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and leaders of his al-Qaeda network, the two leaders said that they formed a united front.
They agreed on the need for a broad-based, multi-ethnic government once the Taliban militia is defeated by the Northern Alliance, which took Kabul unopposed overnight, and showcased ironclad determination to root out terrorism.
"Russia and America share the same threat and the same resolve. We will fight and defeat terrorist networks wherever they exist," Bush said.
On the Middle East issue, both Bush and Putin called on Israel and Palestine to resume peace talks "at a high political level."
"We express our deep concern over the situation in the Middle East, which has led to untold suffering by Palestinians and Israelis during the past year. The violence and terror must end," Bush and Putin added in a joint statement released by the White House on the first day of three-day talks.
Washington and Moscow "call upon the leadership of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to take urgent steps to ease tension, as well as to refrain from actions that are harmful to the other side and to resume the dialogue at a high political level," they noted.
Bush and Putin urged both sides "to end the violence, to set up stable cooperation in the area of security, to implement confidence-building measures, and to resume the substantive negotiating process."
(China Daily November 14, 2001)
