Ambassador's Statements
Ambassador John Beyrle on Pozner News Talk TV Show
January 26, 2008
(Excerpts)
Question 1
V. POZNER: <..> A question that will undoubtedly interest all our viewers: How come, unlike so many of your predecessors, do you speak Russian so well?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Well, I began to study Russian at my university when I was 18.
V. POZNER: Why?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Because the university I went to home state of Michigan, had a professor, a very dynamic person, who won me over. She told me how interesting the language is, and that I would be able to read Tolstoy in the original. So, that’s how I began.
V. POZNER: And it had nothing to do with your father? Could you say a few words about him, as our viewers may not know the story?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Sure. My father is considered to be one of the few Americans who served in both the U.S. and the Soviet armies during the Second World War. He was a paratrooper with the famous 101st Airborne Division. He jumped into Normandy on the eve of the landing in June 1944. And unfortunately he was immediately taken prisoner by the Germans. For the next 6-7 months, he was, as he put it, paying a visit to the Germans. From one camp to another, he moved from west to east. Near the end of the war, in January of 1945, he was in a concentration camp on the Oder. That was very close to the First Byelorussian Front. The POWs could even hear the Soviet artillery some 15-16 kilometers away. My father had attempted to escape several but was always caught and brought back. Finally, he decided to try again, but this time he went toward the Soviets in the east, not west, because he knew that as soon as he joined up with the Russian units, the war would be over for him – he would be in friendly hands. So he went east. He hid at a farm for a few days. And a tank unit, a battalion, I guess, came there. And dad had to think very hard about whom to contact and when exactly to go out. And he had a box of Lucky Strike cigarettes. So he goes out and says to the Soviet soldiers, “Ya amerikanski tovarish, ya amerikanski tovarish.”
V. POZNER: He spoke those words in Russian? He knew a little?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Very little, it just so happened. They looked at him and were at a loss: where is he from, and who is this guy? They wanted to send him to the rear, but he said: “No, I am a soldier, I was held prisoner by the Germans, I did not have a chance to fight. I want to fight now. I know that you are going towards Berlin, and I want to fight with you to defeat Hitler.” You had to know my father. He was so determined and sounded convincing and somehow managed to get his way. He spoke through an interpreter.
V. POZNER: Well, of course.
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: And he was accepted. Moreover, they gave him a PPSh-41 automatic and put him on a Soviet tank as a machine gunner. Although it was a Soviet tank, it actually was a lend-lease Sherman. So for several weeks, he is not sure how long--
V. POZNER: Did he enter Berlin?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: No, he did not. Thank god, he did not, as we know about the losses in those last days, about the number of lives those days cost you. No. A week later, there was an attack by German bombers, and he was badly injured and sent to the rear, to a Soviet hospital. He was there about two weeks, and one fine day, as he describes, there was a commotion – it looked like they were expecting some high-level visitors. It is the same everywhere: new linen, towels-- Indeed, it was Marshal Zhukov. The First Byelorussian Front, as is known, at that time stopped pushing forward for a short while before crossing the Oder, and Zhukov apparently had heard that an American paratrooper who had escaped from the Germans and had fought in the Red Army was in the hospital. He came up to my father and asked him if he was okay and how his family was. And my father said, “You know, the war is over for me as I am badly wounded. I would like very much to go back home, maybe through our embassy in Moscow, but I have no ID, as the Germans took all my documents.” So he asked Marshal Zhukov – very boldly – for a document. The following day, a Major brought him a letter in Russian. Dad could not read it, but he was told that it was like a passport: “With this letter you will be able to reach your embassy in Moscow.” Indeed, dad always spoke about the magical effect of that letter.
V. POZNER: Was it signed by Zhukov?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Yes, it was, apparently. He could not read it. There were ribbons, a stamp, a very hard one, beautiful paper. He only had to show it, and immediately he would be given a place on a train, warm food. Well, sometime in early March of 1945 he reached Moscow. He was taken to the American embassy, where, regrettably, the letter was taken from him. We are still looking for that letter in the archives.
V. POZNER: Did he make any friends in Russia?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Yes. He thinks that the Russians saved his life. After that bombing, they could have easily left him in that ravine, where he lost a lot of blood.
V. POZNER: Has he influenced you in that sense? What do you think?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: I guess so. Inevitably during the Cold War our family had a slightly different idea about what Russia, the Soviet Union, was. And when I started coming here in Soviet times, when I was a university student in Leningrad, when I worked as a guide at American exhibitions, dad started coming here as well.
V. POZNER: I would like to draw everyone’s attention to the picture we see here. Here your father is meeting with the inventor of the Kalashnikov automatic himself, here you can see Kalashnikov in the flesh – something that doesn’t happen every day.
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Yes. That was dad’s last visit, in 2004. Six months later, he died.
For him, that was the apex. There was a huge ceremony, and General Kalashnikov
gave a personal present of his work.
Question 2
V. POZNER: Does the election of Barack Obama mean that relations between our two countries will change for the better? What do you say?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Will change for the better – that is very important and very pleasing, as every question there implies that they want our relations to improve.
V. POZNER: They do, of course.
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: That’s very pleasing. I do think that the coming of a new Administration,
of a new president is always a cause for new beginnings, new ideas, and new
approaches. But indeed, as for president Obama, I see vast prospects for improving
our relations. President, then still candidate, Obama said that we must reject
old, Cold War-style thinking and cooperate with Russia where ever possible.
Naturally, that does not mean that we will not stand by our interests, our
values. But I believe that generally our interests coincide more often than
they differ. Lately, however, for a number of reasons, we have lost the habit
of maintaining regular consultations. I can say with all certainty – because
I have just returned from Washington and even had a chance to hold discussions
with members of the new team – that we will be looking for a way, a chance
to renew mechanisms for consultations. As for substance, you know, it is fine
to talk only of dialogue, but dialogue about what? I think that the focal point
will be arms control. The strategic offensive weapons treaty expires in December,
and I feel that both on the part of the Americans and on the part of Russia
there is a desire to replace it with something new, something that would give
us a chance to further reduce quantitatively our arsenals and maybe agree on
new methods of verification and monitoring.
Question 3
V. POZNER: You said that the United States needs strong partners. Do you really mean that? I know you are a diplomat and have to choose your words carefully, nevertheless – that Russia and the United States can be partners – real partners. Do you really believe that?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: I believe that. I am sure and we have already demonstrated that together we can achieve a lot, besides mentioning World War II, of course, when our joint efforts defeated fascism and Hitler. Even in the 1990s, even under Bush and President Putin we have launched new initiatives, such as the Global initiative against nuclear terrorism. Seventy-five countries have already joined us to conduct joint exercises and exchange experts in order to build a safer world.
V. POZNER: So, you believe it. You believe it and are sure that it will happen?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: I hope that I’ve convinced you that I believe it.
Question 4
V. POZNER: “Why is the image of Russia as an aggressor is being inculcated in the minds of the American people?” He makes reference to Internet publications, headlines and foreign mass media. I’ll just add to it: Don’t you feel that mass media in the United States, on the whole, is a bit one-sided in its description of Russia?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: You know, Mr. Pozner, I think that the remains of cold war still
linger. The cold war habits are still rather strong both in Russia and the
United States. Many decades of confrontation between the Soviet Union and the
United States left some people just unable to perceive the other as anything
but a rival. And this can be found on web sites in both in the United States
and Russia. But – I think that we must encourage different thinking, we must
work together more closely to rebuff such thinking and encourage those people
who do understand that our destinies are interconnected and that our interests
are much closer than different.
Question 5
V. POZNER: The idea is this: it is the United States, which makes certain efforts to make the relations between Russia and Georgia, Russia and Ukraine worse. It is the United States, which is interested in this. How would you to this? About the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and about this.
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: And Afghanistan.
V. POZNER: Yes, yes.
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: First, on Iraq. When will the war end? I think that now it’s more up to the Iraqi people. After all, President Obama has already made it clear that the number of American soldiers in the country will gradually be reduced. We can see that there is much less violence there than even a year ago. Of course, it depends on many factors, but, mainly, our goal and our wish is that the Iraqi people themselves – not foreign servicemen bear responsibility for their destiny. Afghanistan is different. There is a threat, a deadly threat in Afghanistan. After all, the September 11 attack on the United States originated from Afghanistan. Al Qaeda members were trained there. Now the United States, NATO, and fifty other countries, including Russia, provide assistance, to a greater or lesser extent, to give Afghans a chance to live in a peaceful country… intolerance, people who splash acid in the face…
V. POZNER: Yes, yes, in the faces of women who want to study…
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: I believe that our values and interests there completely align with the interests of Russia.
V. POZNER: I see. But let us get back to the question. Can you be more specific about the date? Because President Obama, when he was a presidential candidate, seemed to mention a date, when the most part of the U.S. troops will leave Iraq.
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: I would run a risk by giving an exact date. I can most definitely state that President Obama wants to withdraw the U.S. troops from Iraq and wants the Iraqi army and the Iraqi people to assume responsibility for their destiny. But we must do it responsibly, not in a rush. Therefore it will depend on the situation. However, I believe that our President’s intention and wish are clear.
V. POZNER: And at the same time apparently expand your presence in Afghanistan.
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Yes. He has also made that pretty clear.
Question 6
V. POZNER: How would you comment on that man’s feeling that the United States is still interested in bad relations between Russia and Georgia, Russia and Ukraine?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: I’ve heard this a lot, because I came in July of last year, just before the August events. And again, I can only reiterate that we are not interested in bad relations between Russia and its neighbors. I believe that Russia is not interested in that either.
V. POZNER: You mean to have bad relations?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: To have bad relations.
V. POZNER: Certainly, not.
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Certainly. I believe that Russia wants to have democratic, stable, and predictable countries as its neighbors.
V. POZNER: But still, Mr. Ambassador.
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: It is our goal, too.
V. POZNER: Is the famous English saying “Divide and rule” in play here? We’llget those guys fighting, we’ll treat those this way, and meanwhile we’ll do our work on the sly. Isn’t it true?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: I won’t deny that even in the United States there are people, for whom this slogan somehow guides. But it doesn’t define U.S. policy – neither under the Bush Administration nor under the Obama Administration.
V. POZNER: O.K. It is known that the United States supports Georgia. I’d like to cite you here. You said that you support Georgia because “the democratically elected government of this country is our friend and ally in such difficult regions as Iraq and Afghanistan.” These are your words. Tell me, please: Would your friend President Saakashvili have dared to attack South Ossetia in the way he did it without your, let’s say, support? Without any support, either verbal – I don’t know which – from the United States? Doesn’t it demonstrate the attitude towards Georgia…
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Mr. Pozner, the United States will always defend its friends.
V. POZNER: Even when they are not right?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: It doesn’t mean that we would allow everything. We tried our utmost to dissuade President Saakashvili, persuade him to defy provocation, and not to use force. It is because we understand perfectly that the conflict with Abkhazia and South Ossetia cannot be settled by force. Alas, our efforts were in vain.
V. POZNER: So from your words, can we say that President Saakashvili sought your advice – to use force or not? And you – not you personally, but the United States told him, “No, you should not use it.”
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: Yes.
V. POZNER: It means that he did seek your advice?
AMBASSADOR BEYRLE: He did. We saw what was going on. In August it was all too evident
that some dark clouds were gathering. Of course, we tried to make him change
his mind because this conflict cannot be solved by force.
