Official Transcripts
Press Conference by Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Lantos
Moscow, Russia
February 21, 2007
ALEKSANDR KORZUN, MODERATOR: Good day, dear colleagues. Our guest today is Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Affairs Tom Lantos, who is on a two-day official visit on the invitation of his counterpart in the Russian State Duma, Mr. Kosachev. Mr. Lantos kindly agreed to meet with journalists and speak about his visit here, and share his impressions. Mr. Lantos will make introductory remarks and will then be ready to take your questions.
CONGRESSMAN LANTOS: Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be with you. This is somewhat of a sentimental journey for me because my first visit to Moscow was just a little over half a century ago. It's also a sentimental journey because I am the only member of Congress in the history of the Congress of the United States, who owes his life to the Russian army which liberated me in January of 1945 in my native city of Budapest.
Every time I visit St. Petersburg, I go to the cemetery to pay tribute to the vast number of innocent men, women and children who lost their lives during that 900-day siege. And between my first visit in 1956 and this visit I have had the privilege of visiting Russia, many parts of Russia, on numerous occasions, and it's always a pleasure to be back, particularly in winter because in my mind, snow and Russia, with all its romance, and with all my memories of Russian literature, are inextricably intertwined.
There are three brief announcements I would like to make and then I'll be delighted to answer all of your questions. But before I make my announcements, let me say on my behalf as Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and on behalf of all of my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, how proud we are of our distinguished Ambassador Bill Burns, who is serving with such great distinction as the representative of the United States in Russia. He is one of our most distinguished and highly respected diplomats, and it is a sign of respect we feel towards Russia that he was selected by the President to serve the United States here in Moscow.
Let me first tell you that my counterpart, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Duma and I decided that we will inaugurate an official annual exchange between the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Duma and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, alternating locations between Russia and the United States on an annual basis, for an extensive broad discussion of all the foreign policy issues that our two parliaments face.
Our Russian colleagues and we have a long agenda in every year that lies ahead, because the global struggle against terrorism affects our countries equally. Russia has suffered from it as has the United States, and it's extremely important that as two leading members of the civilized world, we collaborate and cooperate in all of our attempts to deal with the forces of terrorism and nihilism and destruction from suicide bombers to bombers of trains as we have seen in India just the last 24 hours.
The second announcement I would like to make relates to a piece of legislation I introduced in the Congress last week, which closely tracks suggestions made by Russian colleagues in recent times. My legislation is entitled "The International Nuclear Fuel Bank Proposal of 2007," and it will create, under International Atomic Energy auspices, a universally available nuclear fuel bank available to all countries which wish to engage in the development of civilian nuclear power.
At the time when we are looking ahead towards an increasing use of nuclear energy globally, it is important that mature and dependable nuclear powers like Russia and the United States make available to all countries both nuclear fuel and reprocessing of used nuclear materials in a secure and internationally supervised manner, obviating the need for countries to develop their own nuclear cycle.
As all of you know, Russia and the United States, along with our friends, are attempting to prevent the government in Teheran from developing the capability for a full nuclear cycle because of our concern for possible military uses. If in fact Iran's purpose is to develop civilian nuclear energy, the bank that I just referred to will provide Iran, as well as all countries, available nuclear fuel and reprocessing in an internationally supervised and safe and secure manner.
When I announced my legislative proposal concerning the international nuclear fuel bank, I did so at a public hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testified and she immediately supported, on behalf of our government, the idea. We are looking forward to working with our Russian colleagues on this proposal which will not only be a tremendous step towards ensuring peace and stability, but also providing significant commercial opportunities for Russia.
The third announcement I would like to make relates to my determination to bring to an end the Jackson-Vanik process. This is a goal that our Russian friends have had for a long time and I believe the time is ripe to move ahead and put behind us this relic of the Cold War. Despite occasional problems, I am looking forward to a long, constructive, and increasingly positive relationship between Russia and the United States, and I will do my utmost to accelerate and facilitate this process so that the two great countries will be able to work on joint global problems constructively and harmoniously for many years to come.
Let me just say in conclusion that my wife and I, as we always do, immensely enjoyed our visit to this great country and are looking forward to coming back with our 17 grandchildren on a regular basis. A few years ago five of our grandchildren and my wife and I had a marvelous visit to St. Petersburg. The other 12 are demanding equal treatment. And since that time we have acquired one great grandson who, while he is not yet fully articulate, I am sure in a short time will be demanding a visit to Russia. I am delighted to answer any questions.
GERMAN TELEVISON: Mr. Lantos, I think it would be fair to say nobody is perfect. But at some point you deemed Russia so imperfect that you called for its exclusion from the G8. Would you repeat that statement today? And the other way around: as nobody is perfect, would you agree with some of the criticism Mr. Putin had in Munich a few days ago, that the "U.S. has overstepped it's boundaries.." (inaudible)?
CONGRESSMAN LANTOS: Let me first agree with your opening comment that none of us are perfect. And certainly the United States has made over its long and distinguished history a number of mistakes. I do believe with our former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that despite all of our mistakes the United States performs an invaluable function as the indispensable nation on this tiny planet by providing a variety of common services ranging from the safety and security to sea lanes, to dealing with natural disasters. The tsunami effort of our military was nothing short o f heroic, the effort of our military during the earthquake in Pakistan was nothing short of heroic and legendary. And as a member of Congress and as an American by choice, I am immensely proud of the overall record of the United States as a very positive and constructive influence in the world.
As to President Putin's speech, I read that speech carefully twice and I believe that Mr. Putin felt that he had to get these things off his chest. It is fully understandable that the head of a country which until not too many years ago was one of the two great superpowers on this planet and then suddenly saw its position plummet so severely and has now begun to see a rebirth of some of its former strength largely because of the higher prices of energy would want to say some of the things that he chose to say. I have been in Congress now for 27 years and I have heard many politicians make statements that subsequently they are not thrilled with. And we are looking forward to a long constructive relationship with the Russian President, both with Mr. Putin and his successor, for many years to come. The United States and Russia have far too many common interests and long-term goals as important countries of the civilized world that we both need to understand the need to collaborate, to cooperate, to work together on a tremendous range of issues from global health to poverty to peace. So we certainly will not allow the statement of a speech to stand in the way of our very positive attitude towards Russia and our future cooperation.
I had two extremely constructive meetings in the last few days with the distinguished Foreign Minister of Russia and with the distinguished National Security Adviser and both of these meetings convinced me that we have an enormously important joint common agenda to deal with problems of the world. And I will do my utmost to facilitate that joint agenda. I am just coming from another important meeting I had the pleasure of having with the distinguished Minister of Education of Russia. I requested this meeting because of my unlimited admiration for Russian achievements in the field of science, education, culture, civilization, because I am convinced that Russia's greatest asset is not in its energy resources, but in the intellectual resources of the Russian people.
And as a former Professor of Economics, I look forward to welcoming the Minister of Education on his next visit to Washington to deal with issues of common interest in a very fast moving technologically challenging new era where we have a great deal to learn from each other.
QUESTION: About your suggestion regarding Jackson-Vanik: can you give an approximate date when it may be lifted?
CONGRESSMAN LANTOS: I believe that putting an end to Jackson-Vanik is in the national interests of both Russia and the United States. I will spare no effort to bring this about and I have every expectation that I will be successful. One of the many benefits of terminating Jackson-Vanik will be to facilitate Russia's joining the WTO which I think will be of great benefit to the Russian people.
QUESTION: Is it true that the United States is actively preparing for a military operation against Iran? And don't you think that the decision of Estonian Deputies to take down monuments to the Soviet soldiers who liberated the Baltic States is a desecration of the memory of those who fought against fascism?
CONGRESSMAN LANTOS: Well, let me first deal with the very important question with respect to Iran. It is the policy of the United States to deal with the problems that the regime in Teheran poses for all of us in a peaceful and diplomatic fashion. One of the obvious reasons for my legislation with respect to an international nuclear fuel bank relates precisely to that issue. As this bank becomes available, the Iranian government's stated goal of having civilian nuclear energy will be possible to be fulfilled in an internationally supervised, safe and secure manner. The United States has no intention whatsoever to engage in a military confrontation with Iran. We have the highest regard for the Iranian people, we obviously have some reservations with respect to some of the utterly irresponsible and reckless statements by some of the leaders of Iran. But as you all know, the complexity of the Iranian governmental structure is staggering and we are of the opinion that the overwhelming bulk of the Iranian people do not share the reckless statements that emanated from some individuals in Teheran.
My admiration for the heroism and sacrifice of the Russian army in liberating Europe from the yoke of Hitler is unbounded and I believe that it is appropriate to commemorate the heroism and sacrifice of those armies with monuments in all of the countries that were liberated from Hitler's yoke.
BRITISH BROADCASTING SERVICE: On the Nuclear Fuel Bank: how quickly, do you think, could it realistically be set up? Where would it be set up? Will the Russians agree to it? And would it mean that the Russians, if they agree, will not deliver fuel to the Bushehr nuclear reactor?
CONGRESSMAN LANTOS: Those are all excellent questions and I will address all of them during the course of the coming months, more importantly our government will address all of them and the Russian government will address all of them and others during the coming months.
I hope that my legislation will be on a fast track because it is not designed as a delaying mechanism. It is designed as an answer to a real problem. Iran is obviously not the only country which is thinking of developing an independent nuclear fuel cycle. Nuclear proliferation is not in the interests of either Russia or the United States, and I believe the faster we are capable of creating, under the International Atomic Energy Agency's auspices, an international nuclear fuel bank, the better off the security of the entire world will be. So, I will do my utmost to facilitate the passage of my legislation and to facilitate its implementation, including the Russian nuclear industry.
We have time for two more questions because Mrs Lantos and I have an airplane to catch.
THE FINANCIAL TIMES: Before you came to Russia, you said that you wanted to visit Khodorkovsky and you called him a political prisoner. Did you raise it with your Russian colleagues? And is there the problem of rule of law in Russia and if so, can it prevent a wider cooperation with Russia?
CONGRESSMAN LANTOS: I would very much like to visit Mr. Khodorkovsky. I do consider him a political prisoner and I fully expect the Russian government to use the law in an equal fashion as is appropriate in all advanced and civilized countries. I do not believe in selective prosecution of individuals and I very much hope that this issue which is such a severe shadow over the reputation of Russia at the present moment will be removed by the Russian government at the earliest possible time. No one would benefit more from this than the reputation of Russia.
BBC RUSSIAN SERVICE: Today British Prime Minister Tony Blair is to announce the withdrawal plan for his troops in Iraq. What do you think about this process? Do you think you are losing the key ally in this country?
CONGRESSMAN LANTOS: Our relationship with our British allies has never been stronger and more vibrant than it is today. It is the judgment of the majority in Congress as you saw in a vote in the House of Representatives just a few days ago on a resolution which I had the privilege of coauthoring and the debate which I had the privilege of co-managing. It is our judgment that the time has come for Iraqi security forces to assume full responsibility for the security and stability of that country; de-escalation of both British and American forces is clearly going to happen. My judgment is that I have nothing but the highest respect for our British friends.
I just visited with the British military commander in Kabul, Afghanistan, where also the Brits are performing singularly valuable and courageous service. My hope is that our other NATO allies in Afghanistan will accept the full responsibility for providing stability and security in that country and I earnestly hope that some of our NATO allies which at the present moment have so-called caveats on the movement of their troops, allowing them to serve in the relatively safe areas of the north, but not in the south, where the real danger is, will change their position and will join soldiers from Denmark, Holland, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, who carry the heavy load. Thank you very much.
ALEKSANDR KORZUN, MODERATOR: Thank you.